Clemens Johann "Steamboat" Dreisewerd (January 24, 1916 – September 11, 2001) was 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 ...

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), ...

who played for three different teams between

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Listed at , 195 lb., Dreisewerd batted and threw left-handed. He was born in

Old Monroe, Missouri Old Monroe is a city in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States. The population was 265 at the 2010 census. History Old Monroe was the site of Fort Howard. It was laid out in 1819, and named after President James Monroe. The name was prefixed w ...

. In 1944, while pitching for

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Dreisewerd turned things around recording 20

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

and a 1.61

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 ...

, the lowest of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

pitchers. Finally, he reached the majors late in the season with 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 ...

, ending with a 2–4 mark in seven starts. After appearing in only two games in 1945, he was recruited by the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II. While in the Navy, he pitched for a team that included major leaguers as

Mickey Owen Arnold Malcolm "Mickey" Owen (April 4, 1916 – July 13, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a catcher for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brookly ...

Jim Konstanty Casimir James Konstanty (March 2, 1917 – June 11, 1976) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player of . He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia Phil ...

and

Eddie Yost Edward Frederick Joseph Yost (October 13, 1926 – October 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played most of his Major League Baseball career as a third baseman for the Washington Senators, then played two ...

. He was discharged in time for the start of the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

season with Boston. Dreisewerd enjoyed his most productive season with the 1946

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 ...

champion Red Sox, going 4–1 in 20

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, except for one start. He also pitched 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 ...

in Game 4 of the memorable

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

between the Red Sox and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, retiring

Enos Slaughter Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...

, who had four hits and needed another to set a Series record. In 1947, Dreisewerd was sent down to the Red Sox Class Triple-A farm team in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, and led the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

pitchers with 18 wins and a 2.15 ERA. He divided his playing time with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

and New York Giants in 1948, his last major league season. In a four-season career, Dreisewerd posted a 6–8 record with 39

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 and a 4.54 ERA in 46 appearances, including 10 starts, three

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 ...

s, two saves and 140.2 innings pitched. In October 1948 Dreisewerd tried winter baseball in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, but after a month a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' caused the suspension of the baseball season. A year later he developed severe arm problems, and after unsuccessful tries with various minor league teams he was convinced that his baseball career was finished. After retiring from baseball Dreisewerd worked as a

construction contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

, building homes in the

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

area, where he lived for 50 years. By 1999, he was legally blind with

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

. On September 11, 2001, he died in

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi and west of Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 U.S. Census. ...

at age 85, of head injuries suffered in a fall during a vacation.

References

RetrosheetSABR Biography ProjectBaseball in Wartime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreisewerd, Clem 1916 births 2001 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Mississippi United States Navy personnel of World War II Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Missouri Beckley Miners players Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Columbus Red Birds players Greenville Buckshots players Greenwood Chiefs players Jackson Mississippians players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Mobile Shippers players Nashville Vols players New York Giants (baseball) players Pensacola Pilots players People from Lincoln County, Missouri Portsmouth Red Birds players Richmond Colts players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players St. Louis Browns players Seattle Rainiers players