Earl Welton "Teach" Caldwell (April 9, 1905 – September 15, 1981) 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 ...

whose career saw him win more than 330 games over 29 seasons, 1926 to 1954, including 33 victories 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 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 member of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1928),

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 ...

(1935–1937),

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 ...

(1945–1948) and

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 ...

(1948). Caldwell appeared in an even 200

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 ...

in the majors, and in over 1,000 games overall. Born in

Sparks, Texas Sparks is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,529 at the 2010 census. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ZIP Code encompassing the CDP area is 79928. Geography ...

, Caldwell threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . After entering pro ball in the Class D

Texas Association The Texas Association was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926. An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 throu ...

as a 21 year-old in 1926 with the Temple Surgeons, Caldwell made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on September 8, 1928, and pitched a 4–0, six-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

over the Boston Braves, but lost four games after that, and was let go at the end of the season. After spending seven years in minor league baseball, Caldwell was called up by the St. Louis Browns. He reappeared successfully on September 22, 1935, outdueling

Schoolboy Rowe Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe (January 11, 1910 – January 8, 1961) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Detroit Tigers (1932–42) and Philadelphia Phillies (1943, 1946–49). He was a three-time A ...

in a three-hit, 1–0 shutout over 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 ...

leading

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Caldwell ended with a 3–2 mark and a 3.68

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 ...

, but faded to a 7–16 with a 6.00 ERA in 1936 and was sent again to the minors. In 1944, Caldwell helped the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

to clinch 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 ...

title. Caldwell compiled a 19–5 record, earning the most wins in the league and finishing with the highest

winning percentage 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 ...

(.792). His fine season earned him another shot at the majors, where he won 13 games basically as

reliever 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 weather ...

for the Chicago White Sox in 1945, at 40 years of age. He also led the AL in

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

(37) and had a 2.08 ERA in 90

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. The next three years he divided his playing time with Chicago and the Boston Red Sox, and pitched his final game on September 15, 1948. In an eight-season career, Caldwell posted a 33–43 record with a 4.69 ERA, 202

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, five shutouts, 18

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, 25 saves, and 587 innings in 200

(49 as a starter). Following his majors career, Caldwell twice led the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

in ERA with a 2.21 in 1951 and a 2.73 in 1952 while with the Harlingen Capitols. He retired from baseball in 1954, one year after leading the

Evangeline League The Evangeline League began in 1934 as a six–team Class D level minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operation ...

as pitcher–manager for the Lafayette Bulls with a 2.07 ERA at the age of 48. At the time of his retirement from baseball, he was pitching in the

Big State League The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texark ...

for the

Corpus Christi Clippers The Corpus Christi Clippers was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Corpus Christi, Texas between 1910 and 1959. Corpus Christi teams played as members of the Southwest Texas League (1910–1911), Gulf Coast League (1926), ...

when Mission Citrus Growers Inc. recalled him from a leave of absence to become the farm's general manager. At that time, he was the oldest active player in baseball. Caldwell died from

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

Mission, Texas Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 77,058 at the 2010 census and an estimated 84,331 in 2019. Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Geography M ...

, at age of 76.

References

External links

Earl Caldwell
- Baseballbiography.com *
1944 Milwaukee BrewersTiger Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Earl 1905 births 1981 deaths Baseball players from Texas Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Corpus Christi Clippers players Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from liver cancer Fort Worth Cats players Harlingen Capitals players Indianapolis Indians players Lafayette Bulls players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexia Gushers players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minor league baseball managers People from El Paso, Texas People from El Paso County, Texas Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns players San Antonio Missions players Temple Surgeons players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Waco Cubs players Wichita Falls Spudders players