St. Louis Browns RHP Lou Kretlow was born on June 27, 1921 in Apache, Oklahoma. Kretlow was a highly touted prospect coming out of Putman High School, who would play for five MLB teams over the course of his 12-year baseball career.
Throughout his MLB career he played in 199 games, primarily out of the bull pen. He would have 104 games st
St. Louis Browns RHP Lou Kretlow was born on June 27, 1921 in Apache, Oklahoma. Kretlow was a highly touted prospect coming out of Putman High School, who would play for five MLB teams over the course of his 12-year baseball career.
Throughout his MLB career he played in 199 games, primarily out of the bull pen. He would have 104 games started and 22 complete games, but would only record 27 wins. He would also finish 43 games, but only record one save. With constant control issues, his 522 walks overshadowed his 450 strikeouts.
Lou Kretlow attended and played baseball at the University of Oklahoma (1941-42), but would not see much action on the mound for the Sooners. Kretlow would be drafted into the US Army Corp and be assigned to the Enid Army Airfield in Oklahoma. He would spend three years in the Corp (1943-45), which also gave him an opportunity to continue to play baseball for the local semipro team, the Enid Enidairs.
After reaching a 15-5 record in 1943, Kretlow excelled at several National Baseball Congress tournaments, even recording the first no-hitter in NBC history.
After the 1944 World Series, the Browns sent a $25,000 offer to Kretlow to sign with St. Louis. He declined the offer, only to sign a $30,000 offer with the Detroit Tigers. For the first four years seasons, he was shuffled between the Tigers and their minor league levels. He would play for the Buffalo Bison (1946-47), Williamsport Grays (1946-47), and the Tigers (1946, 48-49). Lou Kretlow would always be able to throw the ball hard, but it was not always hitting the right targets. In his first three seasons with the Tigers, he tallied a 6-3 record with a 5.57 ERA.
The Browns were seeking some stability on their pitching staff, and on December 14, 1949 sent INF Jerry Priddy to the Tigers for Kretlow and $100,000. In his first stint with the Browns, he would appear in just 14 innings over nine games with a dismal 11.93 ERA. The Browns though he had poor vision, and Kretlow just wanted to pitch more to show what he could do. But after half the season passed, the Browns decided to place him on waivers on July 5, and he was picked up by the Chicago White Sox. Kretlow would appear in 65 games for the White Sox from 1950-53, posting a much improved 3.73 ERA.
The Browns still believed in Kretlow, and on June 13, 1953 they would send 3B/OF Bob Elliott and RHP Virgil Trucks to the Sox for Kretlow, catcher Darrell Johnson, and $75,000. He would appear in 81 innings in the final three months of the Browns history in St. Louis. His final Browns stats would include a 1-7 record over 31 games. His versatility showed as he started 13 games and finished 12 games. He moved with the team to Baltimore, and after two seasons (1954-55), his contract would be sold to the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League in June of 1955. He finished off his baseball career with the same team he started with, the Buffalo Bison (1957).
Lou Kretlow would return to Enid, Oklahoma, where he dabbled in the oil business and learned how to play golf. In fact, he would spend more years as a local golf pro than he would playing baseball. His greatest moment came on March 26, 1961, when he sank the longest hole-in-one in golf history (427 yards). At the time of his passing, Lou Kretlow had developed an endowment fund which was designed to sponsor golf and baseball programs for the children of Oklahoma.
HEADLINE
"ST. LOUIS NATIVE, MILT BYRNES HITS HIS FIRST MLB HOMER VS. TIGERS"
FEATURED GAME
1943 - The Browns would jump out to a three run opening inning, on their way to a win in Game 1 of the double header against the Detroit Tigers, 6-3. The Browns first inning would be highlighted by a triple from LF Chet Laabs, a double by SS Vern Steph
HEADLINE
"ST. LOUIS NATIVE, MILT BYRNES HITS HIS FIRST MLB HOMER VS. TIGERS"
FEATURED GAME
1943 - The Browns would jump out to a three run opening inning, on their way to a win in Game 1 of the double header against the Detroit Tigers, 6-3. The Browns first inning would be highlighted by a triple from LF Chet Laabs, a double by SS Vern Stephens, and a run scoring fielders choice hit by 3B Harlond Clift. At the end of the frame, the Browns were leading 3-0. After the Tigers scored a run in the sixth inning, the Browns scored two runs on a Chet Laabs fly ball to the outfield that resulted in two fielding errors that resulted in two runs scored. Browns RHP Bob Muncrief would pitch into the ninth inning, giving up just three runs on seven Tiger hits. LHP Al Hollingsworth would be called in to get the final two outs of the game. Hollingsworth earned his second save of the season.
BROWNS RECORD ON THIS DAY
Overall Record on June 27
17 Wins, 31 Losses (.354)
1902-09: 3-5
1910-19: 4-4
1920-29: 2-6
1930-39: 2-7
1940-49: 3-8
1950-53: 3-1
DOUBLE HEADERS
Sweeps: 0
Splits: 2
Swept: 5
TRANSACTIONS
There were No Transactions made on this day
DEBUTS
There were No Debuts on this day
BROWNS BIRTHDAYS
1916 - CF/PH Fuzz White (1940)
1921 - RHP Lou Kretlow (1950, 53)
The 1930 St. Louis Browns was a team struggling to find identity on and off the field. After two consecutive winning seasons, the hopes were high for the Browns to continue their winning ways as the new decade began. The team was stacked with talented pitchers and proven hitters.
The Browns started the season with a 17-23 record through t
The 1930 St. Louis Browns was a team struggling to find identity on and off the field. After two consecutive winning seasons, the hopes were high for the Browns to continue their winning ways as the new decade began. The team was stacked with talented pitchers and proven hitters.
The Browns started the season with a 17-23 record through the month of May. The rough start would frustrate the players and management.
The season would come to climax on June 13, when Browns owner Phil Ball would trade his best pitcher and hitter to the Washington Nationals. LF Heinie Manush was batting .328 in the first 49 games, when he refused to meet with Ball before a Browns game. RHP General Crowder was off to a slow start with a 3-7 record. After an argument with an umpire, a frustrated Crowder threw a ball into the stands that narrowly missed Phil ball in his owners box seats. As the story goes, Ball was so upset with his two best players that he called the Washington Nationals and offered to trade his stars. The Nationals would send LF Goose Goslin to the Browns for Crowder and Manush. Goslin would end up hitting .326 for St. Louis with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, but the uproar in the clubhouse would hang over this team for the rest of the season.
The Browns would end up with a record of 64-90 and a sixth place finish.