Baseball Almanac - 1941 American League Retirements

1941 American League Retirements

The baseball torch is passed from season to season and in some cases, from game to game. In 1911, Cy Young pitched his final Major League game, lost 1-0, and ended the final season of his career with a losing record of 7-9 and an ERA of 3.77. Young's opponent that particular day was a first-year pitcher named Grover Alexander who received the win, added to his league leading shutout total, and went on to begin his career with a winning record of 28-13 and an ERA of 2.57.

Bob Gibson, who was easily one of the most intense competitors of all time, gave up a grand slam to the last Major League hitter he faced, Pete LaCock of the Chicago Cubs. Fifteen years passed and when the two faced off during an old-timer's game, Gibson hit LaCock on his back with a fastball.

Babe Ruth summed it up when he responded to a question about retirement by saying, "A ballplayer should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive list of American League League players who hung up their spikes in 1941.

"I'll never make the mistake of being seventy (70) again." - Casey Stengel comment made after being told to quit following the 1960 World Series

American League Retirements
1941

# Name Team Pos Age

16 Emerson Dickman Boston Red Sox P 27

16 Al Flair Boston Red Sox 1B 25

10 Lefty Grove Boston Red Sox P 42

6 Odell Hale Boston Red Sox 3B 33

24 Herb Hash Boston Red Sox P 31

- Stan Goletz Chicago White Sox PH 24

42 Chet Hajduk Chicago White Sox PH 23

- Dave Short Chicago White Sox OF 25

23 Beau Bell Cleveland Indians OF 34

34 Soup Campbell Cleveland Indians OF 27

11 Vern Freiburger Cleveland Indians 1B 18

7 Buck Frierson Cleveland Indians OF 24

45 Red Howell Cleveland Indians PH 33

- Earl Cook Detroit Tigers P 33

17 Floyd Giebell Detroit Tigers P 32

7 Boyd Perry Detroit Tigers SS 28

22 Bud Thomas Detroit Tigers P 31

18 Steve Peek New York Yankees P 27

34 Johnny Sturm New York Yankees 1B 26

29 George Washburn New York Yankees P 27

30 Johnny Babich Philadelphia Athletics P 29

11 Fred Chapman Philadelphia Athletics SS 25

32 Bump Hadley Philadelphia Athletics P 37

15 Rankin Johnson Philadelphia Athletics P 25

33 John Leovich Philadelphia Athletics C 24

2 Benny McCoy Philadelphia Athletics 2B 26

24 Pat Tobin Philadelphia Athletics P 26

20 Emil Bildilli St. Louis Browns P 29

6 Frank Grube St. Louis Browns C 37

23 Maury Newlin St. Louis Browns P 27

18 Red Anderson Washington Senators P 29

21 Cliff Bolton Washington Senators C 35

- Harry Dean Washington Senators P 27

- Ronnie Miller Washington Senators P 23

1 Buddy Myer Washington Senators 2B 38

# Name Team Pos Age

1941 American League Retirements

Find out which players made their Major League debut in the American League during the 1941 season as this group of players bid farewell to their field's of dreams.

On July 28, 1976, Blue Moon Odom pitched the final five innings of his Major League career. He was relieved by Francisco Barrios in the sixth inning and the two White Sox combined to pitch a 2-1 no-hitter versus the Oakland Athletics.

On September 28, 1960, broadcaster Curt Gowdy uttered, "It's got a chance. It's got a chance. And it's gone!" Those words were used to describe the final at-bat of slugger Ted Williams.

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