Archie Joseph Yelle (June 11, 1892 – May 2, 1983) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He played professional baseball for 20 years from 1911 to 1930, including 87 games in

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), ...

for the Detroit Tigers from 1917 to 1919. He also played seven years in the Pacific Coast League for the San Francisco Seals. In 17 seasons in the minor leagues, Yelle appeared in 1,449 games, 1,305 of them as a catcher. He was posthumously inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early years

Yelle was born in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, in 1892. He played three sports at Saginaw High School.

Professional baseball

Minor leagues

Yelle began his career in organized baseball in 1911 with the

Boyne City Boosters The Boyne City Boosters were a minor league baseball team based in Boyne City, Michigan. From 1911 to 1914, the Boosters teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Michigan State League, hosting home minor league games at Maple Par ...

club from

Boyne City, Michigan Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the southeastern end of Lake Charlevoix where Boyne River drains into the lake. History The are ...

. He then played for the

Lansing Senators Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

in 1911, the Saginaw Krazy Kats in 1911 and 1912, the

Bay City Billikens A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

in 1912, the

Peoria Distillers The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the Western Association from 1894 to 1896; the Central League in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League from 1902 to 1903; and the ...

from 1912 to 1914, the London Tecumsehs and

Jersey City Skeeters The Jersey City Skeeters were a minor league baseball team which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. The club started in the 1860s and by 1870 joined the National Association of Base Ball Players. By 1885, Jersey City had joined the Eastern Lea ...

in 1915, and the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leag ...

in 1916.

Detroit Tigers

Yelle played for the Detroit Tigers of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from 1917 to 1919. According to one published account of questionable accuracy, Yelle signed with the Tigers after claiming he could strike out

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

on three pitches. He was given a tryout with the Tigers, and on the three pitches he had claimed he would need to strike out Cobb, Cobb hit three home runs. In fact, Yelle was drafted by the Tigers in September 1914. Yelle appeared in 25 games in 1917, 13 as a starter, and compiled a .137

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and a .214 on-base percentage. The following year, he appeared in 56 games, 43 as the Tigers' starting catcher, and compiled a .174 batting average and a .227 on-base percentage. In 1919, he appeared in only six games for the Tigers and failed to hit in five at bats. He appeared in his last major league game on July 20, 1919.

Minor leagues

After being released by the Tigers, Yelle played for the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League for seven seasons from 1920 to 1926. In 1921, Yelle compiled a career high .293 batting average in 113 games for the Seals. In 1922, he appeared in 108 games, compiled a .254 batting average, and helped lead the Seals win the PCL championship with a 127–72 record. In 1925, the Seals were 128–71, winning another PCL title. That year, Yelle hit .267 in 101 games and was chosen by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' as the catcher for the PCL All Star Team. On October 6, 1926, the Seals sold Yelle to the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the PCL. Yelle appeared in 111 games for Portland in 1927 and compiled a .260 batting average. After leaving the PCL, Yelle continued to play for several more years for the Des Moines Demons in 1928,

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

in 1929 and 1930,

Columbus Foxes The Columbus Foxes were a minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Georgia. USA. History The team originally played in the South Atlantic League from 1909 to 1917, then reformed in the Southeastern League from 1926 to 1932. It resur ...

in 1930, and

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

and New Orleans Pelicans in 1930. He also served as manager of the Des Moines team in 1928. In 17 seasons in the minor leagues, Yelle appeared in 1,449 games, 1,305 of them as a catcher.

Later years

After his baseball career ended, Yelle worked as a police officer and later police chief in

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, located approximately northwest of Sacramento, and is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 61,032 at the 2020 census. Woodland's origins date to 1 ...

, from 1935 to 1965. He later worked as a prison guard. Yelle died in Woodland in 1983 at age 90. He was buried at Monument Hill Memorial Park in Woodland.''Baseball Necrology''
/ref> Yelle was posthumously inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

References

External links

NWSABR
– 1927 photo * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yelle, Archie Major League Baseball catchers Detroit Tigers players Boyne City Boosters players Lansing Senators players Saginaw Krazy Kats players Peoria Distillers players Saginaw Trailers players Bay City Billikens players Jersey City Skeeters players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Portland Beavers players Des Moines Demons players Atlanta Crackers players Columbus Foxes players Memphis Chickasaws players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Baseball players from Saginaw County, Michigan Sportspeople from Saginaw, Michigan 1892 births 1983 deaths