Howard Francis Fox (March 1, 1921 – October 9, 1955) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

, who 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), ...

(MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, in 9 seasons, between and . During his playing days, Fox stood , weighing . He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. The year after Fox's last big league appearance, he acquired a local tavern in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, while he pitched for the Missions of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

; a month into the offseason, he was stabbed to death at age 34 during a disturbance at that establishment.

Early life

Fox was born in

Coburg, Oregon Coburg is a city (and a National Historic District) in Lane County, Oregon, United States, north of Eugene. The city's population as of the 2020 census was 1,306. Founded in 1847, Coburg has retained the characteristics of traditional small to ...

. He played baseball and basketball at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in 1943, he played for a Pioneer League team in Ogden, Utah, in , followed by stints with minor league teams in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and Syracuse.

Major league career

A hard thrower with a sharp curveball, Fox debuted in MLB in with the Reds, playing seven years before joining the Philadelphia Phillies, in , and the Baltimore Orioles, in . His most productive season came in , for Cincinnati, when he went 11–8, a year after his 6–19 record gave him the most losses of any pitcher in the major leagues. In , Fox collected nine victories, with a 3.83

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), in a career-high 228 innings, but suffered 14 losses. Before the 1952 season, Fox was dealt to Philadelphia in a seven-player transaction that included

Smoky Burgess Forrest Harrill "Smoky" Burgess (February 6, 1927 – September 15, 1991) was an American professional baseball catcher, pinch hitter, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . A nine-time All-Star, Burgess became kno ...

Niles Jordan Niles Chapman Jordan (December 1, 1925 – March 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball during the 1951 and 1952 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. Listed at ...

Eddie Pellagrini Edward Charles Pellagrini (March 13, 1918 – October 11, 2006) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball from – and from – for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He ...

Connie Ryan Cornelius Joseph Ryan (February 27, 1920 – January 3, 1996) was an American professional baseball second baseman, third baseman, coach and manager who served as interim manager of two Major League Baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves and the ...

Andy Seminick Andrew Wasal Seminick (September 12, 1920 – February 22, 2004) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1943 and 1951, and the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs ...

, and

Dick Sisler Richard Alan Sisler (November 2, 1920 – November 20, 1998) was an American player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball. The son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler, Dick Sisler's younger brother Dave was ...

. In , he played for Triple-A

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and a year appeared in 38 games for the MLB Orioles during their first year in MLB since 1902. In nine major league seasons, Fox posted a 43–72 record, with 342

strikeouts 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 ...

, a 4.33 ERA, in 248 appearances, including 132 starts, 42

complete games 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 ...

, five

shutouts 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 ...

, six saves, and innings of work. In 253 games, Fox hit .189, with two home runs, and 25

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI). Fox also played in the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

(1953–) and in the

1954 Caribbean Series The sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba ( Alacranes del Almendares), Panama ( Carta Vieja Yankees), Pue ...

. In the Venezuelan Winter League, he was pitching for Pastora when popular player Luis Aparicio, Sr., of Gavilanes took himself out of a 1953 game and allowed his son,

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

, to pinch hit for his first professional baseball at bat. The younger Aparicio became a star MLB player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Death

While he was a minor league pitcher in the

for the San Antonio Missions in 1955, Fox purchased a San Antonio tavern. That October, he was attempting to kick three men out of the bar and a struggle ensued in front of the business. Fox was stabbed three times and he died as he was trying to crawl back to the door of the establishment. A

San Antonio College San Antonio College (SAC) is a public community college in San Antonio, Texas. It is part of the Alamo Colleges District and the oldest public two-year college in Texas. The college has an average semester enrollment of 22,028 credit students an ...

student, John Strickland, was arrested and two other men were held as material witnesses. Strickland was charged with murder with malice and another man was indicted on an aggravated assault charge in the stabbing injury of Fox's bartender.2 indictments issued in Howie Fox stabbing
''

The Victoria Advocate ''The Victoria Advocate'' is a daily newspaper independently published in Victoria, Texas. It is the second-oldest paper in Texas and the oldest west of the Colorado River, dating back to May 8, 1846, following the Battle of Palo Alto during the ...

''. January 27, 1956. Retrieved February 3, 2016.

References

External links

Allen,_Malcolm,_''Howie_Fox.''_Society_for_American_Baseball_Research
_Biography_Project.html" ;"title="Society for American Baseball Research">Allen, Malcolm, ''Howie Fox.'' Society for American Baseball Research
Biography Project">Society for American Baseball Research">Allen, Malcolm, ''Howie Fox.'' Society for American Baseball Research
Biography Projectbr>Howie Fox
at Baseball Library

at The Deadball Era
Howie Fox
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Howie 1921 births 1955 deaths 1955 murders in the United States American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Oregon Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Deaths by stabbing in Texas Lácteos de Pastora players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers American murder victims Oregon Ducks baseball players People from Lane County, Oregon People murdered in Texas Male murder victims Philadelphia Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse Chiefs players