Prosper Albert Blanche (September 21, 1909 – April 2, 1997) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher. He played two seasons with the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

Bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

from 1935 to 1936.

Biography

A native of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, Blanche was the son of Italian emigrants and the youngest of four children. He attended Somerville High School, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1934. While at Providence, he played summer baseball in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL). In 1931, he began the CCBL season with Wareham, but finished the season with Falmouth. In 1933 and 1934, he pitched for the league's

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

team, winning the decisive third game of a three-game championship series sweep for Harwich over Falmouth. Blanche caught on with the big league Braves near the end of the 1935 season. Though it was the end of a dismal campaign for the Boston club, Blanche posted an impressive 1.56 ERA in 17 innings over six appearances. His debut came on August 23, when he tossed four innings in relief of Ben Cantwell, allowing two earned runs and smacking a hit in the Braves' 7–5 loss to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...

. His best outing came on September 29 in the first game of a home doubleheader against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and hurler

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

. With the Braves down 5–2 after three innings, Boston starter

Ed Brandt Edward Arthur Brandt (February 17, 1905 – November 2, 1944) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1938. He played for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Brandt started his professional baseball career w ...

was lifted for Blanche, who finished with six strong shutout innings in the eventual 5–3 loss. Blanche began the following season with Boston, now known as the "Bees", appearing in 11 games and posting a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings before being optioned to the minor leagues. He made one appearance with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, then finished out the 1936 season with the

Columbia Senators The Columbia Senators was the first name of an American minor league baseball franchise representing Columbia, South Carolina, in the original South Atlantic League. Currently, Columbia is home of the Columbia Fireflies in the South Atlantic Leag ...

of the

Sally League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. In 1938, he was back in the CCBL with Orleans. Over his two major league seasons, Blanche tossed 33 innings with a 3.78 ERA and eight strikeouts. He went 2-for-10 at the plate, and committed two errors in 16 chances in the field. Blanche served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and died in 1997 in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. I ...

, at age 87.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche, Al Sportspeople from Somerville, Massachusetts Providence Friars baseball players Columbus Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Boston Braves players Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Wareham Gatemen players Falmouth Commodores players Harwich Mariners players Orleans Firebirds players Major League Baseball pitchers 1909 births 1997 deaths Baseball players from Massachusetts