Frank Bernard Reiber (September 19, 1909 – December 26, 2002), nicknamed "Tubby," was an American

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 ...

catcher. 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), ...

for the

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 ...

in 1933, 1935 and 1936. He also played 11 years in the minor leagues, including stints with the

Evansville Hubs Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Indiana, ...

(1930–1931),

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

(1932),

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 ...

(1933, 1937),

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

(1934, 1936),

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

(1938–1939), and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

(1940–1941).

Early years

Reiber was born in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, in 1909. He moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

as a boy and attended

Detroit Central High School Central High School, previously Central Collegiate Academy and originally named Central High School, is the oldest public secondary school in Detroit, Michigan; it is part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The school's student bod ...

Professional baseball

Reiber played for the

in 1933, 1935, and 1936, appearing in 44 major league games. He compiled a .271

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 23 hits, 13 runs scored, two doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Reiber was a backup catcher with the 1935 Detroit Tigers team that won the

1935 World Series The 1935 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1935 season. The 32nd edition of the World Series, it matched the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs. The Tigers won in six games for their first championship ...

. He also played 11 years in the minor leagues, including stints with the

Fort Smith Twins The Fort Smith Twins (also known as the Fort Smith Giants) were a minor league baseball team in Fort Smith, Arkansas that existed in various incarnations from 1887 through 1953, playing a total of 36 seasons. From 1911 onward, the teams played in ...

(1930),

(1930–1931),

(1932),

(1933, 1937),

(1934, 1936),

(1938–1939), and

(1940–1941).

Later years

Reiver died in 2002 in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, at age 93.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiber, Frank 1909 births 2002 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from West Virginia Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia Baseball players from Detroit Central High School (Detroit) alumni