Chuck Stobbs
| Chuck Stobbs | |
|---|---|
| File:Chuck Stobbs Red Sox.jpg | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: July 2, 1929 Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. | |
| Died: July 11, 2008 (aged 79) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 15, 1947, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 12, 1961, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 107–130 |
| Earned run average | 4.29 |
| Strikeouts | 897 |
| Stats at Baseball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Managerial record at Baseball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Teams | |
| |
Charles Klein Stobbs (July 2, 1929 – July 11, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1947–51), Chicago White Sox (1952), Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1953–58, 1959–61) and St. Louis Cardinals (1958). Stobbs is notable for being the pitcher who gave up an estimated 565-foot home run to Mickey Mantle that flew entirely out of Griffith Stadium in 1953.[1] Mantle's 565-foot shot was regarded as the first tape-measure home run of the live-ball era.[1]
Early life
[edit | edit source]Stobbs, a native of West Virginia, spent his early years in Springfield, Ohio, and Vero Beach, Florida. His father, Bill Stobbs, played professional football in 1921.[2] As a teenager his family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where his father took a coaching job at Granby High School.[1]
In high school, Stobbs excelled in three sports: football, basketball and baseball.[3] He led the Granby football team to three consecutive state championships and was named all-state quarterback three times.[2] Stobbs was also an all-American in baseball and a two-time all-state basketball player.[2]
In December 1946, Stobbs was quarterback for the Granby team that lost to Lynn Classical High School (quarterbacked by Harry Agganis) in the North–South Shrine Game at the Miami Orange Bowl.[4] In 1947, Stobbs was named by The Washington Post as one of the "greatest athletes to be developed in the Virginia high schools during recent years".[2] In 1957, The Washington Post sports columnist Bob Addie wrote that Stobbs was "one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Virginia."[1] For his storied high-school career, Stobbs was later named to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[1][3]
Major League Baseball career
[edit | edit source]Stobbs declined several college scholarships to play with the Boston Red Sox under the supervision of scout Specs Toporcer, who offered him a $50,000 signing bonus, one of the first players to qualify for baseball's bonus rule.[2][3] Stobbs was only 18 years old when he pitched in his first big-league game, against the Chicago White Sox on September 15, 1947.[3] He was the youngest player in Major League Baseball that year, appearing in four games.[3][5] Stobbs played in six games in 1948 before being a full-time starter for the Red Sox in 1949. That season, Stobbs participated in 26 games, starting 19. He had an 11–6 win–loss record with a 4.03 earned run average while striking out 70 batters in 152 innings pitched.[5]
He was turned down for service by the United States Army for the Korean War because of an asthmatic condition.[3] Stobbs' production diminished in 1957, as he won eight games and led the league in losses with 20.[5] He had a 16-game consecutive losing streak dating back to the previous September. In his last game of the 1957 season, Stobbs pitched 10 innings against the Baltimore Orioles before losing the game 7-3.[3] That season he lost 20 games and joined the St. Louis Cardinals the next year after being purchased by the team.[6] He rejoined the Senators prior to the 1959 season, and stayed in the organization through 1961, when the Senators moved to Minnesota.[3] bHe led the American League in walks per nine innings pitched (2.03) in 1956 and led the American League in losses (20) and earned runs allowed (126) in 1957.
Post-career
[edit | edit source]After leaving professional baseball, Stobbs spent a brief time as an insurance salesman and a coach at George Washington University.
In 1971, Stobbs moved to Florida and worked at a baseball academy operated by the Kansas City Royals. He was a coach at Sho-Me Baseball camp in Branson Missouri in the 1970s.He worked for the Cleveland Indians as a pitching coach in the minor leagues in the early 1980s.[1]
Stobbs died after a seven-year battle with throat cancer on July 11, 2008.[3]
References
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External links
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- Career statistics from Baseball Reference · Fangraphs
- Chuck Stobbs at Find a GraveLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1929 births
- 2008 deaths
- Baseball players from Norfolk, Virginia
- Boston Red Sox players
- Chicago White Sox players
- Deaths from cancer in Florida
- Deaths from throat cancer in the United States
- Lynn Red Sox players
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Minnesota Twins players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Baseball players from Sarasota, Florida
- Baseball players from Wheeling, West Virginia
- Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
- 20th-century American sportsmen