Russell Van Atta (June 21, 1906 – October 10, 1986) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
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 played 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), ...
with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and 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 p ...
over a seven-season career. After his career ended, he was elected to one-term as sheriff of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.Baseball-Reference.com: Russ Van Atta (retrieved November 13, 2012). Having attended grammar and secondary school locally in Augusta, Van Atta attended the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...
. During his years pitching on the team at university, Van Atta only lost a single game in his four collegiate seasons.Linthurst, Randolph. "A Most Spectacular Debut" in ''Baseball Research Journal'', Society for American Baseball Research (1975) (found onlin here . (Retrieved November 13, 2012).
Baseball career
Minor leagues (1928–1932)
After completing his degree at Penn State, scouts from the Major Leagues considered Van Atta to be a promising prospect and in 1928 the New York Yankees negotiated a contract and paid a signing bonus of $250. However, Miller Huggins, the Manager of the Yankees did not trust Van Atta's talent and sent him to the minors. In 1928, he played for the Hartford Senators, a minor-league team based in Connecticut and affiliated with the Eastern League. He played for the next four seasons with the St. Paul Saints, a Triple-A level minor-league baseball team from Minnesota in the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
(now defunct).
New York Yankees (1933–1935)
On September 12, 1932, the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
acquired Van Atta from the Saints.
At the age of 27, he would make his debut the following season with the Yankees on April 25, 1933 in a game against the Washington Senators. Van Atta's debut was historic—both in his pitching performance shutting out the Senators with a score of 16–0 and for going 4-for-4 in batting performance. To date, he is the only
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL) pitcher to get four hits in his major league debut, and one of only seven players in AL history to do so in a nine-inning game.According to baseball-reference.com, there were 12 major league players to go 4-for-4 in their MLB debuts–7 in the American League, 5 in the National League including Van Atta's feat in 1933. The other eleven include: Art Shires (CHW) in 1928; Cecil Travis (WSH) in 1933; Spook Jacobs (PHA) in 1954;
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...
(SFG) in 1959;
Mack Jones
Mack may refer to:
People
*Mack (given name)
*Mack (surname)
*Reinhold Mack, German record producer and sound engineer, often credited as simply "Mack"
*Richard Machowicz (1965–2017), host of ''FutureWeapons'' and ''Deadliest Warrior'', known as ...
(MLN) in 1961; Ted Cox (BOS) in 1977; Hall-of-famer
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett is the Twins' all-ti ...
Delino DeShields
Delino Lamont DeShields (born January 15, 1969), also nicknamed "Bop", is an American former professional baseball second baseman and current first base coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...
Wilson Ramos
Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "The Buffalo", is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals ...
(MIN) in 2010. The overall MLB record for most hits (5) in a debut game is held by Fred Clarke of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
's
Louisville Colonels
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
(1894).
Van Atta's season performance consisted of a .283
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, 4.38
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 ...
and a record of 12 wins and 4 losses (.750). Although a "late bloomer" at age 27, his rookie year was successful and he led the American League among pitchers in
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...
, tying for first with
Lefty Grove
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...
(24–8) of the Philadelphia Athletics.
The successes of Van Atta's rookie year did not carry over into subsequent seasons. His statistics and performance declined for the rest of his career. In 1934, he posted a 6.34 ERA and a 3–5 record. In December 1934, Van Atta injured his pitching hand while breaking a glass window to rescue his pet
cocker spaniel
Cocker Spaniels are dogs belonging to two breeds of the spaniel dog type: the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel of which are commonly called simply Cocker Spaniel in their countries of origin. In the early 20th century, Cock ...
during a house fire at his home in the Lake Mohawk section of
Sparta Township, New Jersey
Sparta is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 19,600, reflecting a decrease of 122 (−0.6%) from the 2010 United States Census, when the township's population was 19, ...
."Babe Ruth Visits the Area" in the "From the Archives" section (reprinted from the New Jersey Herald, Sussex Register, Sussex Independent), ''The Sunday New Jersey Herald'' (March 23, 2003), B2. The injuries included cuts to his left hand that caused nerve damage. For the rest of his career, he would be limited to relief pitching and few spot-starts.
Shortly after spring training, on May 15, 1935, 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 p ...
acquired Van Atta from the Yankees.
St. Louis Browns (1935–1939)
In 1935, Van Atta went 9–16 with a 5.30 ERA, but still Van Atta managed to lead the league with 58 appearances (his 16 losses were the second highest total in the league, behind only
Bobo Newsom
Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all o ...
's 18). He posted an even worse ERA the next season, at 6.60, but again he led the league in appearances with 52. Van Atta played his final game on May 11, 1939.
Overall in his career, Van Atta went 33–41 with a 5.60 ERA. At the plate, he hit .228 with 2
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
(now defunct) then a Double-A minor-league team affiliated with the International League from the Browns.The Maple Leafs and the International League became Triple-A level in 1946. The team eventually became part of the farm system of the Boston Red Sox and in 1973 was moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island where it operates currently Pawtucket Red Sox.
After baseball
Van Atta was elected County Sheriff in Sussex County in northwestern
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1941 and served one three-year term until 1944. His fellow Yankee,
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
campaigned on his behalf. Van Atta later served two three-year terms as on the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Later in life, he partnered a successful oil business, V&H Oil company, in Newton NJ, which was later bought out by
Gulf Oil Company
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
.
Personal life
Russell Van Atta married Helen Elizabeth Depue (1909–1998). They had one son, Russell Van Atta Jr. (1940–2012), and three daughters, Betty Jane, Awilda and Geraldine (1934–2008).
Van Atta died on October 10, 1986 in
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 595, down slightly from 606 in the 2010 census,Frankford Plains Cemetery in
Augusta, New Jersey
Augusta is an unincorporated community located within Frankford Township, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area 07822 was 887.