John Halla Explained

John Halla
Width:150px
Position:Pitcher
Bats:Left
Throws:Left
Birth Date:13 May 1884
Birth Place:St. Louis, Missouri
Death Place:El Segundo, California
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:August 18
Debutyear:1905
Debutteam:Cleveland Naps
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:August 29
Finalyear:1905
Finalteam:Cleveland Naps
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Win–loss record
Stat1value:0-0
Stat2label:Earned run average
Stat2value:2.84
Stat3label:Strikeouts
Stat3value:4
Teams:
  • Cleveland Naps

John Arthur Halla (May 13, 1884 – September 30, 1947) was a professional baseball pitcher from 1902 to 1917. He played one season in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Naps. Halla was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 175 pounds.[1]

Career

Halla was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1884.[1] He started his professional baseball career in 1902 with the Jefferson City Convicts of the Missouri Valley League. In 1904, he had a win–loss record of 20-19 for the MVL's Pittsburg Coal Diggers. The following season, he went 15–11 in the Western Association and was sold to the Cleveland Naps in August.[2] [3]

Halla made three relief appearances for Cleveland, pitching 12.2 innings and giving up four earned runs. That was the only major league experience of his career.[1] He began the 1906 season with the Ohio–Pennsylvania League's Sharon Steels but then joined the Western Association's Topeka White Sox after losing four of his first five decisions.[2] [4]

With Topeka, Halla went 10-3 for the rest of the season. In 1907, he stayed with the same club and went 24–9 to set a career-high in victories.[2] He pitched a no-hitter on August 1 of that year.[5]

Halla was then purchased by the American Association's Louisville Colonels and stayed with them for the next three seasons.[2] [6] In 1908, Halla had a win-loss record of 23-16 while pitching 336 innings, and in 1909, he went 17–12.[2] However, he then went 10–23 in 1910 to lead the league in losses.[7] He went to the Pacific Coast League for two seasons after that and posted two more losing records.[2]

Halla bounced around various minor leagues until 1917. In his final season, he went 18-15 for the Western League's Lincoln Links. He finished his professional baseball career with 195 wins and 166 losses, all in the minors.[2]

Halla died in El Segundo, California, in 1947 and was buried in Pacific Crest Cemetery.[1]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallajo01.shtml "John Halla Statistics and History"
  2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=halla-001joh "John Halla Minor League Statistics & History"
  3. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1905/VOL_45_NO_24/SL4524016.pdf "Western Association"
  4. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1906/VOL_47_NO_20/SL4720014.pdf "Western Association"
  5. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1907/VOL_49_NO_23/SL4923025.pdf "The Western Association"
  6. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1907/VOL_50_NO_05/SL5005014.pdf "The Reserves"
  7. https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/leader.cgi?type=pitch&id=f79aaf81&sort_by=L "1910 American Association Pitching Leaders"