Charles Klein Stobbs (July 2, 1929 – July 11, 2008) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. 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

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 ...

for 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 ...

(1947–51),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1952), Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1953–58, 1959–61) 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 ha ...

(1958). Stobbs is notable for being the pitcher who gave up an estimated 565-foot home run to

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

that flew entirely out of

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

in 1953. Mantle's 565-foot shot was regarded as the first tape-measure home run of the

live-ball era The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in (and continuing to the present day), contrasting with the pre-1920 period known as the "dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes ...

Early life

Stobbs, a native of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, spent his early years in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

and

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

. His father, Bill Stobbs, played professional football in 1921. As a teenager his family moved to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, where his father took a coaching job at

Granby High School Granby High School (originally Granby Street High School) is a State school, public High school (North America), high school in Norfolk, Virginia. The school is part of the Norfolk Public Schools system. It is the only high school in the s ...

. In high school, Stobbs excelled in three sports: football, basketball and baseball. He led the Granby High School football team to three consecutive state championships and was named all-state quarterback three times. Stobbs was also an all-American in baseball and a two-time all-state basketball player. In 1947, Stobbs was named by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as one of the "greatest athletes to be developed in the Virginia high schools during recent years". In 1957, ''

'' sports columnist

Bob Addie Robert Addie (born Robert Richard Addonizio, February 6, 1910 – January 18, 1982) was an American sportswriter who covered baseball for ''The Washington Post'' and '' Washington Times-Herald''. Addie was known for his red socks, dark glasses, an ...

wrote that Stobbs was "one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Virginia." For his storied high-school career, Stobbs was later named to the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

in 2002.

Major League Baseball career

Stobbs declined several college scholarships to play with the

under the supervision of scout

Specs Toporcer George Toporcer (born ''Toporczer''; February 9, 1899 – May 17, 1989) was a professional baseball player and executive. He served primarily as a utility infielder during his eight seasons in Major League Baseball, playing for the St. Louis Cardi ...

, who offered him a $50,000 signing bonus, one of the first players to qualify for baseball's bonus rule. Stobbs was only 18 years old when he pitched in his first big-league game, against the

on September 15, 1947. He was the youngest player in Major League Baseball that year, appearing in four games. Stobbs played in six games in 1948 before being a full-time starter for the Red Sox in 1949. That season, Stobbs participated in 26 games, starting 19. He had an 11–6

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 match ...

with a 4.03

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 ...

while striking out 70 batters in 152 innings pitched. He was turned down for service by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

because of an asthmatic condition. Stobbs' production diminished in 1957, as he won eight games and led the league in losses with 20. He had a 16-game consecutive losing streak dating back to the previous September. In his last game of the 1957 season, Stobbs pitched 10 innings against 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

before losing the game 7-3. That season he lost 20 games and joined the

the next year after being purchased by the team.Cards shuffle players; buy Chuck Stobbs
/ref> He rejoined the Senators prior to the 1959 season, and stayed in the organization through 1961, when the Senators moved to Minnesota. bHe led the

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 ...

in walks per nine innings pitched (2.03) in 1956 and led the American League in losses (20) and earned runs allowed (126) in .

Post-career

After leaving professional baseball, Stobbs spent a brief time as an insurance salesman and a coach at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. In 1971, Stobbs moved to Florida and worked at a baseball academy operated by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. He worked for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

as a pitching coach in the minor leagues in the early 1980s. Stobbs died after a seven-year battle with throat cancer on July 11, 2008.

References

External links

*
Chuck Stobbs
- Baseballbiography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stobbs, Chuck 1929 births 2008 deaths Baseball players from Norfolk, Virginia Baseball players from West Virginia Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from throat cancer Lynn Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players St. Louis Cardinals players Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia Washington Senators (1901–1960) players