Aloysius Edward "Pie" Piechota (January 19, 1914 – June 13, 1996) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player whose career spanned 15 seasons, two of which were spent with the

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), ...

(MLB)

Boston Bees 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 ...

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

from 1940 to 1941. Piechota, a

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 ...

, compiled an

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 ...

(ERA) of 5.66, allowing 39

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s off of 68

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 ...

, 6

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 42 walks while recording 18

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 over 62

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Piechota also played in 14 seasons of minor league baseball. He made his MLB debut at the age of 26 and was officially listed as standing and weighing .

Early life

Piechota was born on January 19, 1914, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His siblings include two brothers and a sister.

Professional career

Piechota began his professional career in 1933 for the

Davenport Blue Sox The Davenport Blue Sox was the name given to three minor league baseball teams based in Davenport, Iowa. The first version of the Blue Sox played in the Class B Three-I League from 1913–1916. The second played in the Class D Mississippi Valle ...

. In his first professional season, Piechota pitched to a 19–4 win–loss record; his 19 wins led the

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

, while the Blue Sox won the Mississippi Valley League championship. The following season, he recorded a 13–11 record, while the Blue Sox, under manager Cletus Dixon, won a Western League pennant. After spending the 1935 season with the team, Piechota played for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, a Double-A

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

affiliate. He tied

Steve Sundra Stephen Richard Sundra (March 27, 1910 – March 23, 1952) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played during eight seasons for the New York Yankees (1936; 1938–1940), Washington Senators (1941–1942) and St. Louis Browns (1942–1944; ...

for second most wins on the team (12), and finished second on the Bears in losses (10). After playing for the Bears, Oakland Oaks, and the Kansas City Blues, Piechota played for the Blues for three more years, including a 16 win, 2.88 ERA 1939 season in which the Blues won the American Association pennant, their first in ten years. In September of that year, Piechota was bought by the Boston Bees. In his major league debut, he pitched innings, allowing an earned run off of three hits and a walk; for the year, he pitched to a 5.75 ERA, allowing 39 earned runs off of 68 hits. During the 1941 season, Piechota re-signed with the Bees, and, after pitching for an inning, he returned to the minor leagues, playing for the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

and the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. He was drafted by the United States military to serve in World War II. In 1944, Piechota was based at the

Great Lakes Naval Training Station Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center ...

, and also pitched for a Great Lakes baseball team. The same year, he was transferred to Naval Air Station Bunker Hill in

Bunker Hill, Indiana Bunker Hill is a town in Pipe Creek Township, Miami County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 888 at the 2010 census. History Bunker Hill was platted in 1851 by James Myers, John Duckwall and Alexander Galbraith. A post office o ...

; there, he pitched for the minor-league Michigan City Cubs, and defeated the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

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 ...

after pitching a two-hitter on August 8. After he was discharged from the military, Piechota returned to minor league baseball until his retirement in 1951, playing in the

National Baseball Congress The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 17 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1935 by Hap Dumont, it has conducted an annual North America ...

with the St Joseph's Autos team in 1946.

After baseball

After retiring from baseball, Piechota served as a police officer for the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

for 25 years, and pitched for their baseball team. He died on June 13, 1996. Funeral services were held on June 17 at St. Juliana Catholic Church in Chicago.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piechota, Al Boston Bees players Boston Braves players 1914 births 1996 deaths Baseball players from Chicago Polish-American culture in Chicago Major League Baseball pitchers Davenport Blue Sox players Newark Bears (IL) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Hollywood Stars players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Little Rock Travelers players Toledo Mud Hens players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players West Palm Beach Indians players