Talmadge Lafayette Abernathy (October 30, 1921 – November 16, 2001), also known as Ted Abernathy, was a

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player whose playing career spanned eight seasons, including parts of three 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

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

(1942–1944). Abernathy 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 ...

. Over his major league career, he went 0–3 with an 11.07

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), one

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

and 13

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in seven games, two starts. Abernathy batted right-handed and threw right-handed. Abernathy also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. Over his career in the minors, Abernathy played with the Class-B

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

(1942–1943); Class-A1, and later Double-A,

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

(1944–1947); the Class-C

Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets The Class D Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets was a Minor League Baseball team who played in three different leagues between the and seasons. The team was a combination of three separate towns from North Carolina (now Eden, Rockingham County, No ...

(1947); the Class-C Reidsville Luckies (1948); the Class-C, and later Class-B,

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Basebal ...

(1948–1949); and the Class-B

Greensboro Patriots Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

(1949). During his minor league career, Abernathy went 79–67 with a 3.39 ERA in 238 games. Abernathy also managed two minor league teams during the 1948 season.

Amateur career

Abernathy attended

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

from 1939 to 1941. In 1939, both Abernathy and future

player

Ed Sauer Edward Sauer (January 3, 1919 – July 1, 1988) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he appeared in 189 Major League games in 1943–1945 and in 1949 for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. He sto ...

attended Elon University. In October 1974, Abernathy was inducted into the Elon University Sports Hall of Fame, recognized because of his contribution as an athlete at the college.

Professional career

Philadelphia Athletics

Before the 1942 season, Abernathy was signed by the

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Abernathy started his first professional season in 1942 with the Class-B

. With the Blue Rocks, Abernathy went 8–6 with a 2.61

(ERA) in 27 games. He was a member of the Blue Rocks when they won the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

pennant. During that season, Abernathy was called up to the Athletics at the major league level. He made his debut on September 19, 1942, against the Washington Senators. In what would be his only game that season, Abernathy pitched 2

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

and gave up three runs, all earned. On February 23, 1943, Abernathy re-signed with the Athletics. Abernathy participated in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Athletics during the 1943 season. In May, Abernathy was cut from the Athletics roster after giving up seven earned runs, all earned, in one inning pitched. Abernathy was then assigned to the Class-B Wilmington Blue Rocks where he went 16–10 with a 3.16 ERA in 38 games. He was tied for sixth in the Interstate League in wins. Abernathy made his return to the Athletics roster in September and finished the season with a record of 0–3 with a 12.89 ERA, one

and 10

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in five games, two starts. Abernathy spent what would prove to be his final season in the majors with the Athletics in 1944. In only one game, Abernathy gave up one earned run in one inning pitched.

Later career

After pitching one game with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1944, Abernathy started playing in 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 ...

organization with the Class-A1

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

. He went 6–6 with a 3.55 ERA in 23 games, 11 starts with the Chickasaws that season. In 1945, Abernathy continued playing with the Memphis Chickasaws. That season, he went 8–10 with a 3.65 ERA in 26 games, 20 starts. Abernathy was tied for first on Memphis in losses in 1945. During the 1946 season, still a member of the Memphis Chickasaws who were now redefined as a Double-A level team, Abernathy went 3–3 with a 3.48 ERA in nine games, seven starts. In 1947, Abernathy played for both the Double-A Memphis Chickasaws and the Class-C

. With the Chickasaws, he went 1–0 in two games. Abernathy later joined the Triplets where he went 14–12 with a 3.18 ERA in 39 games. He led the Leaksville-Draper-Spray team in wins. During the 1948 season, Abernathy made his

managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

debut as the

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of two

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

teams; the

and the Reidsville Luckies. Combined between the two Class-C level teams, Abernathy went 13–10 with a 3.57 ERA in 37 games. During his tenure with the Bees, Abernathy was fined for throwing a baseball out of the

ball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

after getting upset over a call made by the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

. After the incident, Abernathy apologized to his teammates and promised them that if he was ever fined again, he would buy them all a

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, ...

. In 1949, Abernathy's final season in professional baseball, he split the season between the Class-B Burlington Bees and the Class-B

, both of the Carolina League. In 37 combined games, Abernathy went 10–10 with a 4.18 ERA.

References

;General references # # ;Inline citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathy, Tal 1921 births 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Chatham County, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Philadelphia Athletics players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players Memphis Chickasaws players Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets players Burlington Bees (Carolina League) players Greensboro Patriots players Reidsville Luckies players New Bern Bears players