Eugene Leon Crumling (April 5, 1922 – February 11, 2012) was a backup

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 ...

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 St. Louis Cardinals during the 1945 season. Listed at , 180 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Crumling was one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the majors during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He joined the Cardinals late in the 1945 season, as part of a catching tandem that included Ken O'Dea,

Del Rice Delbert Rice Jr. (October 27, 1922 – January 26, 1983) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1961, most notably for the St. Louis Cardinals. ...

and

Walker Cooper William Walker Cooper (January 8, 1915 – April 11, 1991) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1940 to 1957, most notably as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals with whom h ...

. He posted a .083 batting average in six games. He also played for eight

Minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

teams from 1941 through 1952, hitting a .236 average in 895 games. Besides this, he managed for three seasons in the Interstate League (1948, 1951) and the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (1952). Crumling died in

Yorkana, Pennsylvania Yorkana is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 236 at the 2020 census. It is a linear town, spread along Mt. Pisgah Road, which is called Main Street in town. The borough includes several dozen houses, two c ...

, at the age of 89.Baseball Almanac – Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 2012
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Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crumling, Gene Major League Baseball catchers St. Louis Cardinals players Minor league baseball managers Allentown Wings players Columbus Red Birds players Elmira Pioneers players Hagerstown Owls players Rochester Red Wings players Sunbury A's players Wellsville Rockets players York White Roses players Baseball players from York County, Pennsylvania 1922 births 2012 deaths