Leslie Clyde Mueller (March 4, 1919 – October 25, 2012) was a right-handed pitcher 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), ...

who played 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 1941 and 1945. He was born in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

. In 1940, Mueller played for the

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 ...

in the

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 ...

and threw a no-hitter on August 22, 1940 against Dallas. The following year, Mueller reached the big leagues, pitching four games for the Detroit Tigers. He enlisted in the Army after the United States entered World War II and missed the next three seasons. After a physical revealed that he had a hernia, Mueller received a medical discharge in late 1944. Mueller rejoined the Tigers for the 1945 season, going 6-8 in 26 games, including 18 games as a starter. On April 17, 1945, Mueller faced

Pete Gray Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

, the

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 ...

' famous one-armed outfielder, in Gray's first major league game. Gray got his first major league hit off Mueller, the first of 51 hits for Gray in 1945. On July 21, 1945, Mueller put in one of the greatest pitching performances in major league history. Mueller pitched the first 19-2/3 innings for the Tigers and left having given up only one unearned run. No pitcher has thrown as many innings in a major league game since Mueller's feat. The game lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes before umpire

Bill Summers Bill Summers may refer to: * Bill Summers (car builder) (1935–2011), American car builder and longtime speed record holder * Bill Summers (musician) (born 1948), American jazz percussionist *Bill Summers (umpire) William Reed Summers (November ...

called the game a tie due to darkness at 7:48 p.m. When Tigers manager

Steve O'Neill Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most notably with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tig ...

removed Mueller, the pitcher asked, "Gee, Steve, the game isn't over, is it?" Mueller also pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. T ...

. Mueller was sent to the minors in 1946 and finished his career pitching in Buffalo,

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, and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. After his baseball career ended, Mueller returned to Belleville, Illinois, where he worked in the family's furniture store until he retired in 1976.

References

External links

BaseballLibrary.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Les Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Baseball players from St. Clair County, Illinois 1919 births 2012 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Alexandria Aces players Beaumont Exporters players Newark Bears (International League) players Henderson Oilers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players