Albert Bringhurst Schroll (March 22, 1932 – November 30, 1999) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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), ...

. Schroll played from 1958 through 1961 for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1958–59),

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1959),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1960) and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

(1961). Nicknamed "Bull" and listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. Schroll signed with the Red Sox in 1951 and spent seven full years in minor league baseball before getting an opportunity to pitch for Boston. He debuted in April 1958 with five relief appearances, but spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Traded "conditionally" to the Philadelphia Phillies in October, he worked in three April 1959 games out of the bullpen, earning his first big-league win with a seven-inning relief effort to defeat the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

on April 18. But six days later, Schroll was tagged with his first MLB defeat when he allowed three ninth-inning runs 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 ...

, wiping out a 5–4 Phillie lead. He was returned to the Red Sox on May 7, and split the rest of the year between Minneapolis and Boston. On July 29, he threw his first

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

in the majors, holding the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

to six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in a 4–1 triumph. It was his only win in a Red Sox uniform. That December, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for 36-year-old

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish Americans, Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants ( ...

, the New York Giant hero entering the final year of his MLB career. Schroll made the 28-man Cub roster coming out of spring training, but worked only 2

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

before being sent to Triple-A

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He did not return to the majors until August 1961, as a member of the Twins, in their first season in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The former Minneapolis Miller got his most sustained trial as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, with eight starts in August and September. He threw two complete games, and split eight decisions, but posted a poor 5.22

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He pitched two more years in the Twins' farm system in 1962–63, but never returned to the majors. In a four-season MLB career, Schroll posted a 6–9 record with a 5.34

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

in 35

appearances Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

, including 13 starts, three

s, 63

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, 64 walks. He allowed 121

in 118

of work. Schroll was of German-Dutch ethnicity. He died in Alexandria, Louisiana from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

at the age of 67.Bill Nowlin, "Al Schroll." Society for American Baseball Research

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schroll, Al 1932 births 1999 deaths American people of German descent Albany Senators players Baseball players from New Orleans Boston Red Sox players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chicago Cubs players Dallas Eagles players Deaths from cancer in Louisiana Deaths from prostate cancer Greensboro Patriots players Houston Buffs players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Marion Red Sox players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma City Indians players Philadelphia Phillies players Roanoke Ro-Sox players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players San Jose Red Sox players Sportspeople from Alexandria, Louisiana Syracuse Chiefs players Vancouver Mounties players