George Twombly

George Frederick "Silent George" Twombly (June 4, 1892 – February 17, 1975) was a Major League Baseball player. He played five seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (1914 – 1916), Boston Braves (1917), and Washington Senators (1919).[1] He was the older brother of Clarence "Babe" Twombly,[2] who played for the Chicago Cubs in the early 1920s.[3]

George Twombly
Outfielder
Born: (1892-06-04)June 4, 1892
Boston, Massachusetts
Died: February 17, 1975(1975-02-17) (aged 82)
Lexington, Massachusetts
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 9, 1914, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September 1, 1919, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average.211
Home runs0
Runs batted in33
Teams
  • Cincinnati Reds (1914 – 1916)
  • Boston Braves (1917)
  • Washington Senators (1919)

In 1911, then minor league Baltimore Orioles manager Jack Dunn signed the 18-year-old Twombly out of a Boston high school and sent him to the B-League Scranton Miners.[4]

Appendicitis in 1914, his spot in the opening lineup for Baltimore was taken by a 19-year-old Babe Ruth. Later, the Cincinnati Reds were given the opportunity to purchase Babe Ruth from Baltimore, but instead took Twombly and shortstop Claud Derrick.[5]

Twombly made his first appearance in a major league game on July 9, 1914, going 1–for–1 with a triple and a run scored against the Brooklyn Robins.[6]

On February 8, 1916, Twombly was sold back to Baltimore.[7] Twombly had an exceptional season from a power standpoint in the twilight years of the dead-ball era, leading the International League in home runs with 12.[8] He also amassed 10 triples, 21 doubles, and 158 hits for a .313 batting average in 131 games for the Orioles.[1]

Later in the 1916 season, despite majority opinion against it within the organization, Twombly was briefly brought back up to the Reds for three games as the season winded down and the team was clearly not going to make the World Series, garnering a regular season record of 60–93.[9][10] Twombly made no impact, reaching base only once in six plate appearances on a walk before being sent back to Baltimore.[1][9]

After being released by the Boston Braves partway through June 1917, Twombly announced his retirement from baseball.[11]

On August 13, 1919, Twombly was signed by George Weiss, then owner of the New Haven Weissmen of the Class A Eastern League.[12] Twombly closed out his professional career with New Haven, hitting for a .309 average over 55 at-bats in 17 games.[1]

References
  1. Career statistics and history at Baseball-Reference.com
  2. Phelon, W. A. (June 1920). "Striking Incidents of the Season's Opening" (PDF). Baseball Magazine. 25 (1): 329. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  3. Career statistics and history for Babe Twombly at Baseball-Reference.com
  4. "New York Nuggets" (PDF). Sporting Life. 57 (20): 18. 22 July 1911. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  5. Cairnes, Philip F. (October 1999). Young Babe Ruth: His Early Life and Baseball Career, from the Memoirs of a Xaverian Brother. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 67,112. ISBN 0786483539. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  6. Tener, John K. (18 July 1914). "The National League" (PDF). Sporting Life. 63 (20): 5.
  7. "Diamond Dust". The Day. February 8, 1916. p. 12.
  8. Wright, Marshall D. (August 2005). The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics, 1884-1953. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 078642267X.
  9. Mulford Jr., Ren (18 November 1916). "The Red Ghosts in New Garb" (PDF). Sporting Life. 68 (12): 6. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  10. 1916 Cincinnati Reds baseball season at Baseball-Reference.com
  11. "George Twombly Retires". Christian Science Monitor. June 11, 1917. p. 12.
  12. "Twombly and Davies Signed". New York Times. August 15, 1919.
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