frame, Tom Phillips
Thomas Gerard Phillips (April 5, 1889 – April 12, 1929) 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 played for four seasons. He played for 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 ...
in 1915, the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
in 1919, and the
Washington Senators from 1921 to 1922. In 1922, Tom Phillips played baseball in the American Association for the Minneapolis Millers. Manager Joe Cantillon led the Millers to a record of 92-75 to earn Second Place. Phillips's stats for 1922 are: 21 Games Played; 143 Innings Pitched; 9 Games Won; 7 Games Lost; and his Earned Run Average was 4.47
In 1923, again with Manager Joe Cantillon, the Millers's record was 74-92 to earn Sixth Place. Phillips's stats are: 12 Games Played; 74 Innings Pitched; 4 Games Won; 4 Games Lost; and his Earned Run Average was 5.06. That year, Phillips hit 4 Home Runs and his RBI was 5.06. (Stats from Stew Thornley, author of On to Nicollett: The Glory and Fame of the Minneapolis Millers.
Phillips was well over six-feet tall, hence the nickname "Big Tom Phillips." The family considers him a hero as he was the first to make it "out of the mines." Although he never married, several relatives have been named "Thomas" in his honor.
According to an April 12, 1929 newspaper obituary clipping found on the back of a family portrait: "He broke into professional baseball with Wilkes-Barre in 1914, where his work attracted
Connie Mack. During his best years he was a member of the
hiladelphiaAthletics, St. Louis
rowns Cleveland
ndiansand Washington
enatorsin the American League. He was also with Little Rock and New Orleans of the Southern Association, pitching the latter team to a pennant in 1924. In 1925 Washington sent him to Minneapolis. The Millers recently sent him to Des Moines, in the Western Association, while he was ill at home in
Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. He was about 38 years of age, and had lived here nearly all of his life. His best feat was a no-hit, no-run game while with New Orleans in 1924.
"Tom Phillips, former big league pitcher, died at the Philipsburg state hospital here today after a lingering illness from diabetes. He had recently returned from Hot Springs, where he had spent the winter in hopes of regaining his health."
External links
1889 births
1929 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
St. Louis Browns players
Cleveland Indians players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Little Rock Travelers players
New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players
People from Philipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania
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