Merritt Marwood "Mem" Lovett (June 15, 1912 – September 19, 1995) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player who appeared as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

in one

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) game, for the 1933 Chicago White Sox. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed.

Biography

Lovett played on three freshman sports teams at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

: football, basketball, and baseball. He was one of several players that the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

added as

September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

s in 1933; fellow call-up

Milt Bocek Milton Francis Bocek (July 16, 1912 – April 29, 2007) was a professional baseball outfielder. He played parts of two seasons for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his playing career, he was listed at and . Early life ...

went on to play a total of 30 games for the White Sox during 1933 and 1934. Lovett's only major league appearance came on September 4, 1933. Facing 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 a road doubleheader at

Navin Field Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbul ...

, Lovett entered the first game as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in the top of the ninth inning, with the Tigers leading, 8–0. Batting for center fielder

Mule Haas George William "Mule" Haas (October 15, 1903 – June 30, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1925 through 1938, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dy ...

, Lovett came to the plate with two outs and catcher

Frank Grube Franklin Thomas Grube (January 7, 1905 – July 2, 1945) was an American professional baseball and professional football player. In baseball, he was a catcher whose career lasted for 14 seasons (1928–1941), including 394 games in Major League B ...

on base. The available play-by-play for the game simply says that Lovett made an out, ending the game; years later, Lovett recounted that he swung at the first pitch thrown to him by Detroit pitcher

Vic Sorrell Victor Garland Sorrell (April 9, 1901 – May 4, 1972), nicknamed "Lawyer" and "The Philosopher," was a Major League pitcher who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. In 10 Major League seasons, Sorrell had a 92–101 record with a ...

, resulting in an infield pop-up, likely caught by first baseman

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

. Baseball records do not include statistics for Lovett in minor league baseball. Lovett stated that he was released by the White Sox prior to the 1934 season, after he declined their request to play for a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

. He described then being signed by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, at first to play in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Can ...

, and then in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, before leaving in June to return to his hometown of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, as he did not like the minor league playing conditions. Newspaper reports did mention Lovett playing for the

Lincoln Links The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Lincoln, Nebraska, for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–39) during the 20th century. They played in the Class A Western League (1917; 1924–27), the Cla ...

of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

during May 1934. After his brief professional baseball career, Lovett worked in a bank while also playing

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

baseball. He also was a member of a touring basketball team called the Chicago Circus Clowns, somewhat like the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. He later worked for the Glidden paint company for 40 years, until his retirement in 1977. Lovett died in 1995 in

Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...

. He had been married twice, and had four children and four step-children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Mem 1912 births 1995 deaths Chicago White Sox players Lincoln Links players Baseball players from Chicago Basketball players from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago Baseball infielders Chicago Maroons baseball players Chicago Maroons men's basketball players Chicago Maroons football players