Bob Swift

For other people named Robert Swift, see Robert Swift (disambiguation).
Bob Swift
Catcher
Born: (1915-03-06)March 6, 1915
Salina, Kansas
Died: October 17, 1966(1966-10-17) (aged 51)
Detroit, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 16, 1940, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1953, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average .231
Home runs 14
Runs batted in 238
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Robert Virgil Swift (March 6, 1915 – October 17, 1966) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, standing 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg). He threw and batted right-handed.

Swift is pictured in one of the most famous photographs in American sporting history. He was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951, when St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sent midget Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit during an actual MLB game. The stunt was inspired by the James Thurber short story You Could Look It Up and Gaedel was allowed to bat when the Browns showed the umpires a legitimate baseball contract. Swift knelt on the ground to receive pitcher Bob Cain's offerings—it is this kneeling stance that is captured in the photo—and Gaedel took a base on balls. He was immediately replaced at first base by a pinch runner and he never appeared in a big league game again; he had had no baseball experience in the first place.

Swift's 1949 baseball card

While Gaedel was a novice, Swift, a native of Salina, Kansas, played 14 consecutive seasons (1940–53) in the big leagues. Primarily a second-string catcher, he toiled for the Browns (1940–42), Philadelphia Athletics (1942–43) and Tigers (1944–53), appearing in 1,001 games and hitting .231. A good defensive catcher, he batted and threw right-handed.

He became a coach and minor league manager immediately upon the end of his playing career, coaching for the Tigers (1953–54; 1963–66), Kansas City Athletics (1957–59), and Washington Senators (1960). During the 1959 season, Swift filled in for Kansas City manager Harry Craft when Craft missed 15 games due to illness, and the Athletics won ten straight games and went 13–2. But Swift was bypassed at season's end when the A's changed managers.[1]

Swift was in his second stint as a Detroit coach in 1965 when manager Chuck Dressen was felled by a mild heart attack during spring training. As acting manager, Swift led Detroit to a 24–18 record until Dressen was able to return. The next season, in May 1966, Dressen suffered his second coronary in as many seasons. Again, Swift took the reins, but in July (with the Tigers 32–25 under his command) he fell ill and was hospitalized during the All-Star game break for what appeared to be food poisoning. Tests revealed, however, that Swift was suffering from lung cancer. Coach Frank Skaff took over July 14 as the team's second acting manager and finished the campaign.

Three months after stepping aside, on October 17, Swift died in Detroit at the age of 51. (Dressen had predeceased him, on August 10.) His record in 1965–66 as an interim manager was 56–43 (.566), giving him a career record of 69-45 (.605).

References

  1. ↑ The Associated Press, October 17, 1966

External links

See also

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