Edward Stumpf (May 15, 1894 – October 16, 1978) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
player,
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
and executive in
Minor league baseball.
Stumpf began his professional baseball career as a
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
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 ...
, playing from 1916 through 1919 for 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 ...
and
Columbus Senators
The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was created in as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900), Western Association (1901), and America ...
. After that he
coached and
scouted for the Brewers for several years, before becoming a manager in 1939 with the
Tarboro Serpents in the Class-D Coastal Plain League. From 1941 to 1942, Stumpf managed and eventually caught for the
Janesville Cubs of the
Wisconsin State League
The Wisconsin State League was a class D baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin State League ...
, until he heard about the
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
, an innovative circuit conceived by
Philip K. Wrigley
Philip Knight Wrigley (December 5, 1894 – April 12, 1977), often called P. K. Wrigley, was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant fa ...
, a chewing-gum magnate who had inherited the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
Major League Baseball franchise from his father. Stumpf took the opportunity to get news at first hand, because Wrigley was his employer at the time.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League play officially began on May 30, 1943 with four teams, the Kenosha Comets
Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at List of defunct amusement parks#Wisc ...
, Racine Belles
The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...
, Rockford Peaches
The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois.
The Peaches were one of two teams to pla ...
and South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix Fi ...
. Stumpf became one of the first four managers hired by Wrigley, being assigned to the Rockford club. The other managers selected were Johnny Gottselig
Johannes “Johnny” Gottselig (russian: Иван Гоцелиг) (June 24, 1905 – May 15, 1986) was a professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1928 and 19 ...
(Racine), an experimented ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
left winger who played 17 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
(NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
), and former big leaguers Josh Billings
Josh Billings was the pen name of 19th-century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (April 21, 1818October 14, 1885). He was a famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. He is often compa ...
(Kenosha) and Bert Niehoff
John Albert Niehoff (May 13, 1884 – September 8, 1974) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for four clubs from the 1913 to 1918 seasons. He batted and threw right-handed.
Playing career
A native of Louisville, Colorado, N ...
(South Bend).[
Stumpf appeared in the league's first All-Star Game during the 1943 midseason, which was played under temporary lights at ]Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...
, between two teams composed of Blue Sox and Peaches players versus Comets and Belles players. It was also the first night game ever played in the historic ballpark (July 1, 1943).
After that, Stumpf was an active scout for the league during the rest of the decade and served a second stint as manager in 1945 (Kenosha). He also has been credited with switching Dorothy Kamenshek
Dorothy "Dottie" "Kammie" Kamenshek (December 21, 1925 – May 17, 2010) was an American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. She batted and threw left-handed.
Early life
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kamenshek played outfield ...
from outfield to first base after just 12 games for the Peaches. A perennial All-Star and two-time champion bat, Kamenshek was considered by former New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
first baseman Wally Pipp
Walter Clement Pipp (February 17, 1893 – January 11, 1965) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Pipp played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds between 1913 an ...
, as the fanciest-fielding first sacker he had ever seen among men or women.[
Stumpf later moved into the front offices. He joined 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 ...
organization in 1950, first as business director of Cleveland minor league system and later was promoted as general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
for Triple-A Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...
in 1953. While working for the Indians, he provided assistance in the development and monitoring of future big leaguers as Hank Aguirre
Henry John Aguirre (January 31, 1931 – September 5, 1994), commonly known as Hank Aguirre, was an American professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from 1955 to 1 ...
, Joe Altobelli
Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San Fr ...
, Rocky Colavito
Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr. (born August 10, 1933) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1955 to 1968, most prominently as a m ...
and Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928.
The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...
, among others.[''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Miles Wolff, Steve McDonald. Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: English. ]
Stumpf was a long resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, where he died at the age of 84. He is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...
at Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...
opened in 1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.[
]
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpf, Eddie
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers
American baseball players
Minor league baseball executives
Minor league baseball managers
Cleveland Indians scouts
Columbus Red Birds players
Janesville Cubs players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Place of birth missing
1894 births
1978 deaths
Milwaukee Red Sox players