Frederick William "Bucky" Veil (August 2, 1881 – April 16, 1931) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher. He pitched for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 1903 and 1904.

Career

Frederick played both baseball and football at Williamsport High School, the latter of which earned him the nickname "Bucky" for his mastery of the buck-lateral. In January 1901 Veil attended

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

on a baseball scholarship. That summer he pitched for a semi-pro team in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...

, where he was scouted by

owner

Barney Dreyfuss Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death in 1932. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2 ...

. Veil signed a contract with Dreyfuss in October 1902, and joined his former Bucknell teammate

Jimmy Sebring James Dennison Sebring (March 22, 1882 – December 22, 1909) was an American professional baseball player who played outfield from 1902 to 1909. He attended college at Bucknell University. He played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh ...

during the 1903 season. Veil appeared in the second game of the inaugural

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, becoming the first relief pitcher in World Series history. Veil return to Altoona in 1904 and played his final Major League season. From 1905 to 1909 Veil played in the minor leagues: * 1905-1906, 1907 Columbus Senators (American Association) * 1907 Williamsport Millionaires (Tri-State League) * 1908 Binghamton Bingoes (New York State League) * 1908 Wilkes-Barre Barons (New York State League) 1909 Wilmington/Sunbury (Atlantic League) In 1909 he also managed with Wilmington/Sunbury.

External links

Major League Baseball pitchers 1881 births 1931 deaths Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Blair County, Pennsylvania Cortland Wagonmakers players Newport News Shipbuilders players Columbus Senators players Binghamton Bingoes players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub