Richard Lloyd Hoover (December 11, 1925 – April 12, 1981) was an American

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 ...

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 the Boston Braves during the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

season. Listed at , 170 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.

Career

Born in Columbus, Ohio, the 17-year-old Dick Hoover was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent prior to the start of the 1943 season. He was assigned to the Appalachian League, where he finished 11–1 to lead the league in winning percentage (.917) while helping lead the

Bristol Twins The Bristol Twins were a Minor League Baseball team located in Bristol, Virginia, that operated in the Class D Appalachian League between the 1940 and 1955 seasons. During their history, Twins were an affiliate team of the New York Giants (1942� ...

to a 74–35 pennant-winning record. But his baseball career was interrupted in 1944 after he entered service in the United States Navy during World War II. Following his discharge in 1946, Hoover was part of successive transactions between the Giants, Cubs and Pirates organizations, playing for six different teams in a span of three years. Before the 1949 season, Hoover was sent by the Giants along with Gary Gearhart and cash consideration to the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

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 ...

in exchange for Davey Williams. By then, the Crackers were a Class AA affiliate of the Boston Braves, a period during which they won more games than any other league team.''Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers'' – Rich Marazzi, Len Fiorito. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2004. Format: Hardcover, 450pp. Language: English. Hoover had two solid years with the Crackers, after going 11–11 with a 3.97

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 1949 and 16–7, 3.35 in 1950. He was promoted to Triple A Milwaukee Brewers of 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 ...

in 1951, ending with a 5–4 record and a 3.14 ERA in 27 games, basically as a middle reliever and

spot starter S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

. Hoover opened 1952 with the Boston Braves, pitching for them from April 16 through April 23. He made two relief appearances, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

one batter in innings of work. He did not have a decision, but gained notoriety by serving up the

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

ball hit by future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

in his first Major League at bat. It would be the only homer Wilhelm would hit in his 20-year major league career.Baseball Players of the 1950s Following his brief stint in the majors, Hoover returned to Milwaukee for the rest of the 1952 season. He went 10–5 while leading the pitching staff with a 2.60 ERA. He finished his career with Triple A

Columbus Jets The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A Internationa ...

in 1955. His career highlight came on August 14, when he hurled a no-hitter against the Richmond Virginians. In an 11-season, minors career Hoover posted an 89–72 record and a 3.44 ERA in 313 pitching appearances. After baseball retirement in 1955, Hoover worked as a police sergeant in his native Columbus. He died in a traffic collision in

Lake Placid, Florida Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,223 and in 2018 the estimated population was 2,439. It is part of the Sebring Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town has two nickname ...

at the age of 55 years, while making a vacation trip.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoover, Dick Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Braves players Albany Senators players Atlanta Crackers players Bristol Twins players Columbus Jets players Jersey City Giants players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Toledo Sox players United States Navy personnel of World War II Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Road incident deaths in Florida American police officers 1925 births 1981 deaths

Career

See also

Sources