William Leonard Tremel (July 4, 1929 – December 22, 2013) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed relief pitcher who appeared in parts of three Major League Baseball seasons for the 1954–56

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 ...

. Nicknamed "Mumbles", Tremel batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Tremel was born July 4, 1929, in

Lilly, Pennsylvania Lilly is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 968 at the 2010 census. History The Lilly Bridge was listed on the National Register of ...

, to Charles and Mary (Galla) Tremel. He was a 1948 graduate of Lilly high school where he played football and basketball along with baseball.

Baseball career

Tremel's contract was purchased by the Cubs from the unaffiliated Shreveport Sports of the Class AA Texas League during the 1954 season after Tremel posted 2 good seasons there, winning 21 of 28 decisions, largely in relief. Appearing in 33

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

for the Cubs during 1954, he finished 22 of them and was credited with one victory and four saves. Tremel started the 1955 season in the minor leagues but was recalled to the Cubs in July, and posted an MLB-career-best 3–0 record and 3.72 earned run average, with two more saves, in 23 games. He made the Cub roster at the start of the 1956 campaign, but in his only appearance, April 27 against the Cincinnati Redlegs at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

, he gave up three

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 ...

and an earned run in one-third of an

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

. He spent the rest of that season in the Texas League, and the rest of his professional career in the minors. He was a mainstay in the Texas circuit and with Shreveport, spending all or portions of seven of his 11 pro years with the Sports. All told, Tremel worked in 57 Major League games. In 91 innings, he gave up 81 hits and 23

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, while recording 260

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 ...

Later life

After retiring from baseball in 1959, Tremel spent 31 years with the SKF corporation in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1999, Tremel received a plaque honoring his legacy in the game and in the community; the plaque stands behind the backstop at Lilly, Pennsylvania's War Memorial Field. In 2002, he was inducted into the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame. Tremel died on December 22, 2013, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremel, Bill 1929 births 2013 deaths Baseball players from Cambria County, Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Portland Beavers players Shreveport Sports players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Eau Claire Bears players Victoria Rosebuds players Temple Eagles players Monroe Sports players Clarksdale Planters players