Bob Lemon

Baseball Player

• Born: September 22, 1920
• Birthplace: San Bernardino, California
• Died: January 11, 2000
• Place of death: Long Beach, California

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Robert Granville Lemon was born on September 22, 1920, in San Bernardino, California. The younger of two children, Bob grew up in Long Beach, where his father worked as an iceman. At an early age, Bob was inspired to play baseball by his father, who had played professionally. Bob started playing ball at Laurel Grammar School and continued playing throughout junior high and high school. One of Bob’s teammates, Vern Stephens, also became a professional baseball player.

The Road to Excellence

In 1938, the Cleveland Indians signed Bob to a one-hundred-dollar-a-month contract to pitch and play shortstop, the same positions that he had played in high school. He bought a Model T Ford with his five-hundred-dollar bonus and drove to Springfield, Ohio. Bob spent the next five years in the minor leagues. Still, this unpretentious man was doing what he wanted to do—playing ball professionally—and he would have been content to stay in the minors for the remainder of his career.

In 1943, Bob’s career was interrupted. He joined the Navy for three years and was stationed in California and Hawaii. He continued to improve as a player by playing on service teams. In 1944, he married Jane McGee; they had three sons.

In 1946, Bob’s return to the Indians was marked by frustration and disappointment. He had expected to play third base but was moved to center field on Opening Day. He also had trouble hitting major-league pitching. Bob found his true calling, though, when he was moved to the bull pen. He pitched in thirty-two games, twenty-three of them in relief. His 4-5 record was good for a pitcher who had previously pitched only 2 innings in the minor leagues.

The Emerging Champion

Even though his batting average was better than that of most pitchers, Bob probably would not have stayed in the majors if he had not developed into such a fine pitcher. In 1948, his first full year as a starting pitcher, Bob’s long apprenticeship in the minors paid off. He led the league in complete games, hurled ten shutouts, and was named pitcher of the year. He also made the all-star team and won both the second and sixth games of the World Series.

Bob’s rookie season was the auspicious beginning of an extraordinary career. Between 1948 and 1956, Bob won twenty games seven times, joining Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove as the only American League pitchers to have done so. This record is even more amazing when one considers that Bob could not throw a straight fastball.

In addition to pitching, Bob excelled in other ways. Because of his infield experience in the minors, he became an excellent fielding pitcher, assisting in fifteen double plays in 1953. Bob was also one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball. He had a .284 career batting average. He also hit 37 home runs for the Indians.

Bob’s success during these years reflects his refusal to give in to frustration. The Indians lost the pennant to the Yankees by a narrow margin in 1952 and 1953. The year 1954 was particularly disappointing for Bob. Although he was privileged to play in another World Series—this time, against the New York Giants—he lost both games that he pitched. Nevertheless, Bob continued to do his best until 1956, which was his final twenty-victory year.

Continuing the Story

Bob was forced to retire from active play as the result of a 1957 leg injury and a 1958 elbow injury. Overall, Bob enjoyed extraordinary success with the Cleveland Indians. He ended his career with a .618 winning percentage.

Even after his playing days were over, Bob was always in demand because of his in-depth knowledge of baseball. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Bob scouted and coached in both the major and minor leagues. He served as both pitching coach and scout for the Indians (1959-1960), the Phillies (1961), and the Angels (1962-1963).

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bob became as well known for his success as a manager as he had been for his prowess on the field. He began his managerial career in the minor leagues, managing the Angels’ top minor-league club in 1964-1965 and moving on to manage Seattle in the Pacific Coast League in 1966. That same year, he was named minor-league manager of the year by The Sporting News. In the 1970’s, Bob moved to the majors. After perfecting his managing skills with the Royals (1970-1972) and the White Sox (1976), Bob guided the Yankees to a World Series victory in 1978 but lost to the Dodgers in the 1981 series.

In 1976, Bob was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Many fans felt that he should have been elected much sooner. Bob died in January, 2000, after suffering a series of strokes.

Summary

Bob Lemon never settled for less than the best from himself, regardless of whether he was playing in the minor or major leagues. He will be remembered as one of the few pitchers to have won more than two hundred games. Unlike many hurlers, though, Bob did not actively seek publicity, even though his accomplishments as a seven-time twenty-win pitcher and as a World Series manager certainly entitled him to do so.

Bibliography

Boyer, Mary Schmitt. Indians Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! Chicago: Triumph Books, 2007.

James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: Free Press, 2003.

Koppett, Leonard, and David Koppett. Koppett’s Concise History of Major League Baseball. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004.

McAuley, Ed. Bob Lemon: The Work Horse. New York: A. S. Barnes, 1951.

Shatzkin, Mike, Stephen Holtje, and Jane Charlton, eds. The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference. New York: Ideal Logic Press, 1999.