Warren Harvey "Curly" Ogden (January 24, 1901 – August 6, 1964) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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), ...

(MLB) from 1922 to 1926 for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

and Washington Senators.

Early life and education

Ogden was born in Ogden, Pennsylvania on January 24, 1901. The town is named after Ogden's family who lived on the land now known as Upper Chichester, Southwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for generations. Ogden's ancestor had come to America from England on the same ship as

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

. Ogden was a three sport athlete at Chester High School. Ogeden attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, pitched for the baseball team, was a member of the Student Army Training Corps and graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1922.

Career

Before the 1922 baseball season, Ogden was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent. He was brought straight to the majors and made his debut against Cleveland in Philadelphia on July 18, 1922. On May 23, 1924, Ogden was selected off waivers by the Washington Senators from the Philadelphia Athletics. Ogden was the starting pitcher for the Washington Senators in the final game of the

1924 World Series The 1924 World Series was the championship series of the 1924 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, the series was played between the American League (AL) pennant winner Washington Senators and the National League (NL) pennan ...

, which they won in 12 innings. The right-hander was something of a decoy in that Game 7, given his first start of the Series as a ploy by Senators manager

Bucky Harris Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris (November 8, 1896 – November 8, 1977) was an American professional baseball second baseman, manager and executive. While Harris played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tige ...

to get the opposition to load its lineup with left-handed hitters. Harris then removed Ogden after two batters and replaced him with the left-handed pitcher

George Mogridge George Anthony Mogridge (February 18, 1889 – March 4, 1962) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1911–12), New York Yankees (1915–20), Washington Senators (1921–25 ...

, making Ogden one of the earliest known examples of an "

opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland * Bottle opene ...

". Ogden spent three seasons with the Senators from 1924 to 1926, making 29 starts. On March 27, 1927, Ogden was purchased by the

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

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

from the Washington Senators. Ogden continued playing minor league baseball for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

in 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 ...

and Toronto, Jersey City and Montreal in the

into the 1934 season before retiring. After his professional baseball career, Ogden taught and coached for 18 years at

Penns Grove High School Penns Grove High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carneys Point Township and Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Pen ...

Penns Grove, New Jersey Penns Grove is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Salem County, New Jersey, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,147,Jack Ogden John Mahlon Ogden (November 5, 1897 – November 9, 1977), was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played five seasons in the majors, between and , for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and St. Louis Browns. He played several seasons with t ...

, also attended Swarthmore College, pitched in the major leagues for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

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 ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and is a member of the

International League Hall of Fame The International League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the International League (IL). It was created by the International League Baseball Writers' Association in 1947 to honor t ...

. In November 1932, Ogden married Alice Marker of

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. Together they had a daughter, Helen, born in 1934. Ogden died on August 6, 1964, and is interred at the Lawn Croft Cemetery in

Linwood, Pennsylvania Linwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,281 at the 2010 census. Geography Linwood is located in southern Delaware County at (39.825945, -75.422808). It occupies the easter ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Curly 1901 births 1964 deaths Philadelphia Athletics players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Philadelphia Athletics scouts Philadelphia Phillies scouts St. Louis Browns scouts Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Pennsylvania Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chester High School alumni Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Jersey City Skeeters players Montreal Royals players People from Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Swarthmore Garnet Tide baseball players Burials at Lawn Croft Cemetery