Welton Claude Ehrhardt (November 20, 1894 – April 27, 1980) was a

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 ...

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), ...

. He pitched from 1924 to 1929 with the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

and

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 ...

. A right-hander, Ehrhardt's career was delayed while he served in the Navy in World War I, so that he was nearly 30 by the time he made his Major League debut. Ehrhardt was the losing pitcher in that debut on July 18, 1924, throwing a complete game but losing 4-0 to

Eppa Rixey Eppa Rixey Jr. (May 3, 1891 – February 28, 1963), nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American baseball player who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933 as a left-handed pi ...

and the

. A month later, Ehrhardt turned the tables, outpitching Rixey in a 9-4 victory on Aug. 17 for the Robins, all four runs allowed being unearned due to his team's four errors. Ehrhardt's next start, four days later, came in

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

, where he shut out the Cubs 2-0 with a four-hitter,

Zack Wheat Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Do ...

driving in both of Brooklyn's runs. After winning five games during that 1924 season, Ehrhardt had his best year in 1925, winning 10 games.

Dazzy Vance Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for ...

(22-9),

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

(12-19) and Ehrhardt were the Robins' top starters that year. In his final appearance of the season, on Oct. 1, 1925, Ehrhardt was the losing pitcher but did hit his only home run. It came off

Jimmy Ring James Joseph Ring (February 15, 1895 – July 6, 1965) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1917–1920), Philadelphia Phillies (1921–1925, 1928), New York Giants (1926) and St. Louis Cardinals (19 ...

in a 6-5 loss to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In 1926 and 1927, working mostly out of the bullpen, he ranked first in the National League in games finished, making 46 appearances during the 1927 season. On April 18, 1929, Ehrhardt was traded to the Reds. He appeared in 24 games that season, all but one in relief. The start came In the final appearance of his career, on Oct. 5, 1929, when Ehrhardt pitched a complete-game shutout in Cincinnati to defeat the Cubs 9-0. It was a five-hitter,

Kiki Cuyler Hazen Shirley Cuyler (; August 30, 1898 – February 11, 1950), nicknamed Kiki, was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodg ...

getting two of Chicago's hits. Ehrhardt had a single at the plate in that final game. He reportedly worked in a

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geograp ...

steel mill for 20 years following his retirement from baseball. Ehrhardt is buried in Trinity Lutheran cemetery in

Crete, Illinois Crete is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States, a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 8,259 at the 2010 census. Originally named Wood's Corner, it was founded in 1836 by Vermonters Dyantha and Willard Wood. Geography Crete i ...

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1894 births 1980 deaths Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Robins players Cincinnati Reds players Duluth White Sox players Columbus Senators players Moline Plowboys players Peoria Tractors players People from Will County, Illinois People from Chicago Heights, Illinois {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub