Thomas Edward Hughes (September 13, 1934 – November 2, 2019) 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 ...

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who appeared in two games for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

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), ...

. Born in Ancón, Panama Canal Zone, the son of a police official working in the then-American-controlled Canal Zone territory,Retrosimba.com, "Tom Hughes, First Panama Native to Play for Cardinals"
/ref> Hughes was a

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 batted left-handed and was listed as tall and . He signed with the Cardinals in 1954. As a minor league pitcher, Hughes posted gaudy win–loss records during his early career, winning 52 of 68 decisions ( .765) between 1955 and 1957 for teams in the Class C California League and the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He led the California League in strikeouts with 273 and won 20 games during 1955. But he was treated late in 1956 for elbow soreness, then missed the entire 1958 campaign and almost all of 1959 while serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Upon his discharge in August 1959, Hughes was added to the Cardinals' expanded roster that September. With the Redbirds languishing in the

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manager 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 ...

Solly Hemus Solomon Joseph Hemus (April 17, 1923 – October 2, 2017) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. Hemus is one of a sel ...

gave the

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

two auditions as a starting pitcher, with both games against the Chicago Cubs. On September 13, his 25th birthday, at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

, Hughes lasted into the third inning, but allowed five

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s on five hits (including home runs by

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

and

Irv Noren Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kansas C ...

) and two bases on balls, and was tagged with the 8–0 defeat. Eight days later, at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (M ...

, Hughes

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

only four batters, and was charged with surrendering four hits and four earned runs. He again was charged with a loss, as Chicago went on to win, 12–3.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

br>box score: 1959-0-21
/ref> In 1960, Hughes returned to the minor leagues and spent two more seasons in the Cardinal organization before retiring from pro baseball. In his two MLB games, he allowed a total of nine hits and nine earned runs in four full innings pitched, for an earned run average of 15.75. He struck out two and issued two bases on balls.

References

External links

1934 births 2019 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Panama Ardmore Cardinals players Fresno Cardinals players Houston Buffaloes players Houston Buffs players Lancaster Red Roses players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Panama Memphis Chickasaws players People from Panamá District St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Zonians {{baseball-pitcher-stub