Claude William Passeau (April 9, 1909 – August 30, 2003) was an American
starting pitcher 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), ...
. From 1935 through 1947, Passeau played with the
Pittsburgh Pirates (1935),
Philadelphia Phillies (1936–39) and
Chicago Cubs (1939–47). He batted and threw right-handed. In a 13-year career, Passeau posted a 162–150 record with 1,104
strikeouts and a 3.32
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.
Comp ...
in 2,179
innings.
Personal life
Passeau was a native of
Waynesboro, Mississippi
Waynesboro is a city in Wayne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,043 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County.
Geography
Waynesboro is located at (31.674026, -88.643553), just east of the Chickasawhay Rive ...
. He was a graduate of
Millsaps College
Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
History
The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webste ...
in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
, where he joined
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...
.
Passeau was considered the finest college quarterback in Mississippi, but he chose to pursue an athletic career in professional baseball rather than football after graduation.
Baseball career
Passeau started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then played for several years with the Philadelphia Phillies at their notorious "bandbox" ballpark,
Baker Bowl, before being traded to the Chicago Cubs, where he had several winning seasons.
Passeau surrendered the game-winning home run to
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...
in the
1941 All-Star Game.
Passeau's greatest individual performance came in Game 3 of the
1945 World Series
The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...
, in which he pitched a one-hitter against the
Detroit Tigers. Slugger
Rudy York
Preston Rudolph York (August 17, 1913 – February 5, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and a first baseman between and , most notably as a member of the ...
got the Tigers' only hit, in the second inning, and the Cubs took a 2-games-to-1 edge. Due to
wartime travel restrictions that were still in place, despite the war having ended, the first three games were in Detroit and the last four in Chicago. Back in
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
, the Cubs lost three of four games, their last appearance in the Series until 2016. Passeau was the starting pitcher for the Cubs in Game 6, but had to be removed from the game during the sixth inning after he injured his pitching hand while fielding a hard smash. Passeau had a comfortable lead in the game, but the Chicago bullpen could not check the Tigers. The game went into extra innings and the Cubs emptied their bench.
Hank Borowy
Henry Ludwig Borowy (May 12, 1916 – August 23, 2004) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1942 through 1951 for the New York Yankees (1942–45), Chicago Cubs (1945–48), Phila ...
, who was scheduled to pitch Game 7, was pressed into service and pitched four innings as Chicago won the game in twelve innings. Passeau's injury proved to be costly as the Cubs were without a well rested pitcher to face
Hal Newhouser
Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 19 ...
in the final game.
That one-hit game was only the second low-hit game in the history of the Series; the first was pitched by the Cubs'
Ed Reulbach
Edward Marvin "Big Ed" Reulbach (December 1, 1882 – July 17, 1961) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs during their glory years of the early 1900s.
Career
Reulbach played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame ...
in
1906
Events
January–February
* January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
. There have only been four low-hit Series games since, including
Don Larsen's
perfect game
Perfect game may refer to:
Sports
* Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners
* Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game
* Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...
in the
1956 World Series, and
Roy Halladay
Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...
's one
walk
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...
no hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
in the
2010 NLDS
The 2010 National League Division Series (NLDS) were two best-of-five game series to determine the participating teams in the 2010 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—a "Wild Card"—played in t ...
, which are the only two
no-hitters
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
in
MLB
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), ...
postseason
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
history.
Passeau was a better than average hitting pitcher, as he had a career average of .192 (189–982), hitting 15
home runs and recording 80
RBI in a 13-year career. On May 19, 1941, he hit a grand slam home run and had 5 RBI in a 14–1 victory over the Dodgers. In the 1937, 1941 and 1942 seasons, he compiled 11, 12 and 10 RBI respectively.
Death
Passeau died on August 30, 2003, in
Lucedale, Mississippi
Lucedale () is a city in George County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lucedale was founded in 1901 when Governor A.H. Longino signed his name and his seal to the proclamation. ...
, aged 94.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
*
References
External links
The Deadball Era*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passeau, Claude
1909 births
2003 deaths
Baseball players from Mississippi
Beaumont Exporters players
Centralia Cubs players
Charleston Senators players
Chicago Cubs players
Decatur Commodores players
Des Moines Demons players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Millsaps Majors baseball players
Minor league baseball managers
National League All-Stars
National League strikeout champions
People from Waynesboro, Mississippi
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Shreveport Sports players
Williamsport Grays players