Clarence Westly Marshall (April 28, 1925 – December 14, 2007), nicknamed "Cuddles", was an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. He played 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), ...

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

for the

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

and

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 p ...

between 1946 and 1950.

Early life

Clarence Westly Marshall was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

, on April 28, 1925. He attended Bellingham High School, where he played for the school's baseball and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

teams. He was also a sports reporter and the sports editor for the school's newspaper. Marshall also played baseball at the semi-professional level for the Bellingham Bells while he was in high school. In 1943, Marshall's senior year at Bellingham High, he had a 9–1

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and did not allow an

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 erro ...

. He threw a no-hitter in April 1943. His older brother, John, also played baseball at Bellingham High.

Professional career

After he graduated from Bellingham High in 1943, Marshall signed with the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initi ...

of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), and he made his professional debut as a relief pitcher. He returned to Seattle in 1944, but the Rainiers optioned him to the

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 ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

. After the 1944 season, the Rainiers traded Marshall to the

for Johnny Babich and Dick Hearn. The Yankees assigned Marshall to the Kansas City Blues of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

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 ...

for the 1945 season. Marshall made the Yankees' roster in 1946, and he made his major league debut on April 24. On May 28, Marshall started the first night game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. It was his first game started at the major league level. He had a 3–4 record and a 5.33

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) for the Yankees in 1946. The Yankees assigned Marshall to Kansas City in 1947 and in 1948. He was traded to 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 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League in May 1948 for

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

. He made one appearance for the Yankees in 1948; he pitched one inning and walked three batters. Marshall spent the entire 1949 season with the Yankees. He had a 3–0 record and a 5.11 ERA in 1949. The Yankees won the

1949 World Series The 1949 World Series featured the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the 12th championship in team history. This victory would start a record ...

; though he did not appear in the series, he received a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

. Marshall opened the 1950 season with the Yankees, but was on the cutting block as a mid-May deadline loomed for the Yankees to reduce their roster size. On May 15, 1950, the

purchased Marshall from the Yankees. He had a 1–3 record with a 7.88 ERA for the Browns in 1950. After the 1950 season, Marshall passed a physical examination by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Anticipating that he would be drafted, the Browns released him to 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 ...

of the International League. He was drafted, and the Army stationed him at Fort Lewis in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, before he was sent overseas to Austria. He returned to the United States before the 1953 season, and signed with the Browns. The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

of the International League purchased Marshall on a 30-day trial basis, but returned him to the Browns. In June 1953, he was released by the Browns and he signed with 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 ...

of the PCL. He was released by Hollywood and signed with the Vancouver Mounties of the

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International Leagu ...

. In his second appearance for Vancouver, Marshall threw a no-hitter, though he walked nine batters in the game. After the 1953 season, Marshall was involved in a car accident in Bellingham where the car collided with a telephone pole, killing the driver of the car. Marshall was hospitalized in serious condition. He broke his left leg and had hand and wrist injuries. He decided to retire from baseball following the accident. Marshall compiled a 7–7 win–loss record and a career ERA of 5.98 in 73 appearances in the major leagues. He also had four saves. Over his career, he walked 158 batters while striking out but 69.

Nickname

During his career, Marshall drew attention for his looks. He was once referred to as the "handsomest twirler on the staff" of the Yankees. In 1946, a reporter overheard other Yankees players trying to come up with a nickname for Marshall, when

Joe Page Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 – April 21, 1980), nicknamed ''Fireman'' and ''The Gay Reliever'', was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. Page, who was left-handed, played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees ...

joked about how girls wanted to "cuddle" with Marshall. The reporter began to refer to Marshall as "Cuddles". Marshall initially did not like the nickname, but according to his daughter, he came to appreciate it later in his life. In 1946, newspapers pointed out the resemblance between Marshall and actor

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

. After the 1946 season, movie studio

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

offered Marshall a contract for $250 per week ($ in current dollar terms) for 50 weeks and options for six years at up to $1,200 per week ($ in current dollar terms). He declined the offer, as he wanted to continue his baseball career.

Personal life

During the baseball offseasons, Marshall took courses at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

. After his retirement, he worked as a

financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, ...

for

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...

for 27 years. He also had second jobs in a liquor store and as a security guard at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

. Marshall married Margaret Suzow on June 30, 1951. They had two daughters. After his retirement from baseball, they moved to

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it ...

. Margaret died in 1976, and Marshall moved to

Saugus, Santa Clarita, California Saugus is a neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California. It was one of four communities (with Valencia, Newhall and Canyon Country) that merged in 1987 to create the city of Santa Clarita. Saugus includes the central and north-central portions ...

, after her death. Marshall died in his home on December 14, 2007. He was buried at Assumption Catholic Cemetery in Simi Valley in his Yankees uniform.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Cuddles Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players St. Louis Browns players Memphis Chickasaws players Seattle Rainiers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Newark Bears (International League) players Vancouver Capilanos players Hollywood Stars players Baseball players from Washington (state) Sportspeople from Bellingham, Washington Western Washington University alumni Military personnel from Washington (state) 1925 births 2007 deaths People from Saugus, Santa Clarita, California Baseball players from Santa Clarita, California United States Army soldiers