Ralph Joseph Birkofer (November 5, 1908 – March 16, 1971) was an American

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 ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

. His two main pitches were a sinking fastball and a curve.

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1908 births 1971 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Dodgers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Cedar Rapids Bunnies players Burlington Bees players Des Moines Demons players Quincy Indians players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Toledo Mud Hens players Nashville Vols players Portland Beavers players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Baseball players from Cincinnati {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub