Paul Edmore LaPalme (December 14, 1923 – February 7, 2010) 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 from 1951 through 1957 for four different teams 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), ...

. Listed at , , he batted and threw left-handed. A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, LaPalme was a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

specialist. He spent 16 years in baseball, pitching seven seasons in the major leagues and 12 in the minors. He also served in the Army from 1943 to 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Nicknamed "Lefty", LaPalme started his professional career in 1941 at the age of 17, pitching for the

Bristol Twins The Bristol Twins were a Minor League Baseball team located in Bristol, Virginia, that operated in the Class D Appalachian League between the 1940 and 1955 seasons. During their history, Twins were an affiliate team of the New York Giants (1942� ...

of the Appalachian League. He posted a 10–4 mark in 21 games and opened 1942 with the

Erie Sailors The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994. Pre-1930s Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906–1907, 1913, 19 ...

of the

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...

, going 12–11 with a 3.27

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 ...

before joining the military. After being discharged, he returned to Bristol in 1946 and went 20–2 with 181 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA in 27 appearances. In 1949, he ended 14–13 with a 2.90 for the Class-A Hartford Chiefs, while leading the Eastern League with 162 strikeouts. LaPalme entered the majors in 1951 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing for them four years before joining 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 ...

(1955–56),

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

(1956) and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1956–57). In his major league debut, he pitched a five-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

against the Boston Braves at Braves Field; however, he finished 1–5 with a 6.29 ERA. His most productive season came in 1955, when he went 4–3 with a 2.75 ERA and three saves in 56

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

appearances. He also compiled a 4–5 record with a 2.83 ERA and nine saves for the White Sox in 1956 and 1957. Following his major league career, he pitched in the minor leagues until 1959. In a seven-season career, LaPalme posted a 24–45 record with 277 strikeouts in 253 games, including 94 starts, one shutout, 14 saves, and 616 innings of work. In 12 minor league seasons, he went 118–68 with a 3.21 ERA in 324 games. After retiring from baseball, LaPalme was a long-time resident of

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Leominster i ...

. He owned a business known as LaPalme Engravers. He died at the age of 86 after a long illness.

References

External links

Retrosheet.orgLegacy.com obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapalme, Paul 1923 births 2010 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Springfield, Massachusetts Bristol Twins players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Redlegs players Erie Sailors players Hartford Chiefs players Hollywood Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Tars players Knuckleball pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Royals players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Trenton Giants players