Clyde Smoll Explained

Clyde Smoll
Position:Pitcher
Bats:Both
Throws:Left
Birth Date:17 April 1914
Birth Place:Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Death Place:Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:April 26
Debutyear:1940
Debutteam:Philadelphia Phillies
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:September 12
Finalyear:1940
Finalteam:Philadelphia Phillies
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Win–loss record
Stat1value:2–8
Stat2label:Earned run average
Stat2value:5.37
Stat3label:Strikeouts
Stat3value:31
Teams:

Clyde Hetrick "Lefty" Smoll (April 17, 1914 – August 31, 1985) was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1940 Philadelphia Phillies.

Biography

On April 26, 1940, Smoll made his major league debut, starting against the Brooklyn Dodgers, whose starting pitcher was Freddie Fitzsimmons.[1] Smoll allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings of work, saddling him with the loss. Smoll made 33 appearances in 1940, starting nine games and going 2–8 with a 5.37 ERA. In 109 innings, he allowed 145 hits and 36 walks while striking out 31 batters. He played his final big league game on September 12.

Smoll also spent 10 seasons pitching in the minor leagues, going 79–94 in 337 games. He pitched in the minors until 1946. He managed in the minor leagues from 1948 to 1950, skippering the Rome Colonels the first two years and the West Palm Beach Indians in the last.[2]

Smoll died in the city of his birth, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1985.[3] A son, Clyde Jr., bought the minor league Elmira Pioneers in 1986,[4] and owned the team for a decade.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brooklyn Dodgers 6, Philadelphia Phillies 0 . April 26, 1940 . retrosheet.org . October 9, 2019.
  2. Web site: Lefty Smoll Minor Leagues Statistics & History . baseball-reference.com . sports-reference.com . October 9, 2019.
  3. Web site: Lefty Smoll . retrosheet.org . October 9, 2019.
  4. News: Quakertown man buys dream: a baseball team . Dan . Fricker . . . 40 . November 12, 1986 . March 16, 2021 . newspapers.com.