Otho James Nitcholas (September 13, 1908 – September 11, 1986) was a

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), ...

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 appeared in seven games, all in relief, for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. The 36-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

right-hander stood and weighed . Nitcholas is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his

major league debut 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), ...

on April 18, 1945 against the Philadelphia Phillies at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...

. His lone major league win came eighteen days later in a 10–7 victory over the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

. Season and career totals for 7 games include a 1–0 record, 3

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

, and an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 5.30 in 18 innings pitched. Nitcholas walked one batter. He did give up four home runs during that span. Nitcholas was a manager in the minor leagues from 1950–52. On January 1, 1957, Nitcholas was appointed the first Chief of Police in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

. Nitcholas died in his hometown of

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau lis ...

, in 1986.

External links

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Retrosheet
Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Texas Brooklyn Dodgers players People from McKinney, Texas 1908 births 1986 deaths Minor league baseball managers Fort Wayne Chiefs players Shreveport Sports players Tyler Sports players Baton Rouge Senators players Oklahoma City Indians players Sacramento Senators players Mission Reds players Hollywood Stars players Fort Worth Cats players Dallas Rebels players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Tyler Trojans players Dallas Eagles players Gladewater Bears players Alexandria Aces players Abilene Blue Sox players Brownsville Charros players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub