Larry Drake, Joe Burns and Charles Bowles Sold By A's

Finding transactions from the forties is a lot of fun but can also be a lot of work. Newspapers sometimes garbled up names of players, and sometimes trades were altered or vetoed at the last minute for one reason or another.

We look today at a simple transaction of three players that ended the major league career of two of them; and two of them never played for the team that acquired them.

The Herald-Journal of Jan. 20, 1946  has this article:

“The outright purchase of 3 players from the Philadelphia Athletics was announced today by Earl Mann of the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association.”

“The 3 new players….are Pitcher Charles Bowles, a righthander, who pitched 33 innings for the A’s last season, losing 3 games; 3^rd-baseman Joseph Burns, who hit .256 in 83 games with Connie Mack’s club, and Outfielder Larry Drake, who played with Toronto and Baltimore of the International League last season.” 

Bowles, Burns and Drake all played in the majors in 1945 with the A's. Bowles and Burns never made the big time again, in fact, Burns stopped playing altogether, evidentally.

Drake did not play for Atlanta that next season, going to Sherman, TX for a couple years before resurfacing with the Senators. Try as I might I cannot track anything down on that.

This sale to Atlanta is not mentioned on any of the three Baseball-Reference pages, but Burns has this notation in his transaction list:

"May 27, 1946: Released by the Philadelphia Athletics."

Which doesn't seem to make sense; I'll see if I can find more about this.

Drake, while he didn't appear for Atlanta that season, DID eventually wind up with the Crackers. The Senators farmed him out to Chattanooga in 1948 after a couple of appearances for them, and the Lookouts dealt him to Atlanta for the next season. From the Daytona Beach Morning Journal of Dec. 10, 1948:

 “Outfielder Larry Drake who set a new home run record for the Chattanooga Lookouts last season was sold yesterday to the Atlanta Crackers.”

Drake would spend 1949 with four teams, independent Atlanta first, then Jersey City. From the Asbury Park Press of June 7, 1949:

" The Jersey City Giants of the International league bought outfielder Larry Drake from the Atlanta Crackers yesterday. The Southern association club had bought him from Chattanooga last winter. Last year Drake hit 30 home runs. His batting average this season is .260."

Baseball-Reference has Drake playing just 6 games for the Giants' AAA team, and he goes to Columbia, a Reds Single-A team, and independent St. Hyacinthe to finish the year and his career.

Top: Larry Drake from Baseball-Reference

Middle: Joe Burns from  www.baseballprospectus.com

Bottom: Charlie Bowles from Wikipedia

Seattle Loved Bob Hall; Charlie Grimm Didn't

Bob Hall was a pitcher in the majors for the Pirates and Braves in the late forties and early fifties, who put up some less-than-spectacular numbers in the big show.

His entire career spanned from age 18 in 1942 to age 32 in 1956, a lot spent in the PCL. You can look up his record on his Baseball reference register page.

His transaction record barely covers the travels of Hall:

• Before 1942 Season: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent.
• Before 1947 Season: Sent from the Detroit Tigers to Seattle (PCL) in an unknown transaction.
• October, 1948: Traded by Seattle (PCL) to the Boston Braves for a player to be named later, Al Lyons and Tommy Neill. The Boston Braves sent Heinz Becker (December, 1948) to Seattle (PCL) to complete the trade.
• October 14, 1952: Purchased by Seattle (PCL) from the Milwaukee Braves.
• December 1, 1952: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates from Seattle (PCL) in the 1952 rule 5 draft. 

Now I couldn't quite nail down the first go of Hall to Seattle, but it was obvious he was a favorite in that town, with all the efforts to bring him back.

I found a trade to independent Seattle in mid-season of 1951. From the Ellensburg Daily Record of June 1, 1951:

“Bob Hall is coming back to pitch for the Seattle Rainiers.”

“The club management announced that Hall has been obtained from the Boston Braves. He has been playing for Milwaukee in the American Association.”

“To make room for Hall, Pitcher Ray Martin is being sent to Atlanta.”

Martin had been a Brave before and had only been with Seattle for a half of a season. Atlanta was the [Boston] Braves AA club at the time.

Hall had been sent from Milwaukee to Atlanta, though he didn't play for Atlanta, before heading to Seattle again. We get a reason why from this April 1, 1952 article form the Milwaukee Journal:

"Pitcher Bob Hall, one of seven players turned over to the Brewers by the Braves last week, will not remain with the club, [Manager Charlie] Grimm revealed. Hall started the season with Milwaukee in 1951 but lasted only a month. He then joined Seattle, Highly temperamental, Hall is not the Grimm type of ballplayer, and the Brewer manager advised against rejoining the club. He will be sold or traded."

Harsh!

So Hall bounced beck to the Braves from Seattle somehow and they were looking for a way to get rid of him. From the Ellensburg Daily Record of April 8, 1952:

“The Boston Braves Monday transferred the contract of Pitcher Bob Hall from the Milwaukee American Association farm to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League on a 24-hour recall basis”

Many articles mention Hall being "obtained" by Seattle from Sacramento during the 1952 season, but I have yet to nail down a date. Nevertheless, Hall was drafted by the Pirates for 1953.

And sold back to the Rainiers very quickly: the May 13, 1953 Beaver Valley Times:

"Catcher Eddie Fitz Gerald was sold to Washington of the American League, pitcher Forrest Main to Toronto of the International League, and pitcher Bob Hall to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League."

This was a roster-trimming move to cut from 28 to 25 at the time....but hold the Hall!!

From the Pittsburgh Press of May 18, 1953:

“Bob Hall, the 29-year-old righthand pitcher sold back by the Bucs to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League on May 14, has been ordered returned to the Bucs by Ford Frick, baseball commissioner.”

“Purchase of the pitcher by Seattle has been canceled by the commissioner who, in a telegram to Branch Rickey of the Pirates, said the Bucs had received a price in excess of that permitted by league rules.”

Oops. So Hall stayed with the Pirates for the whole season, posting a 3-12 mark and a 5.39 ERA. Thank you Mr. Frick.

Seattle's love affair with Bob Hall didn't end there. Hall didn't make the Pirates the next season and was farmed out to Hollywood in the PCL. Then, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of June 23. 1954:

“Bob Hall, righthanded pitcher who was sent to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League on a look-see basis, and who was returned to the Pirates a few days ago, was sold to Seattle of the PCL last night,”

 

Hall would finish in Portland and San Diego in the next two years, but those transactions haven't been found...yet!

Bob Hall from amazon.com
Ray Martin from http://baseball-birthdays.net