Roy Joseph Cullenbine (October 18, 1913 – May 28, 1991) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played ten seasons in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, Washington Senators,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

between 1938 and 1947. Cullenbine was among the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

leaders in walks for seven consecutive seasons from 1941 to 1947, and holds the major league record for most consecutive games (22) with a walk.

Career

Born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

but raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, Cullenbine was a switch-hitter and one of the most prolific recipients of

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

in major league history. In his ten-year career, he collected almost as many walks (853) as he did hits (1,072). He was among the

leaders in walks for seven consecutive seasons from 1941 to 1947. He was once walked four times in the same game by Yankee ace

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingto ...

, in August 1941.
Roy Cullenbine
In a July 1941 game, he scored 5 runs in only 2 official at bats. Driven largely by his ability to draw walks, he had a career

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

of .408, 132 points higher than his career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .276. This on-base percentage ranks 38th best in major league history, higher than many Hall of Fame legends, including

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner ( ; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955) was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nicknamed "the Flying Dutc ...

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

and

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

Early years

He played football for Detroit's Eastern High School, and was a Tiger batboy in 1930. In 1932, legendary scout Wish Egan saw him working out on Navin Field and signed him. His minor league career ran from 1932 to 1937, for Shreveport, Louisiana; Greenwood, Mississippi; Springfield, Illinois; Beaumont, Texas; and Toledo, Ohio. After starting his major league career in 1938-39 for his hometown Detroit Tigers, he was among several major league players declared free agents in January 1940 by Commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball, commissioner of baseball from 1920 until his death. ...

and was given a $25,000 bonus to sign with the

the following month. After playing only 22 games for the Dodgers, he was traded in May 1940 to the

for Joe Gallagher.

Breakout season in 1941

He had a strong 1941 season for the Browns, hitting .317 with 121 walks for a .452 on-base percentage, 2nd only to

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

in the AL. Cullenbine also drove in 98 runs, made the All-Star team (in Detroit, ending with a two-out ninth-inning come-from-behind walk-off three-run blast by Williams off Claude Passeau) and finished 10th in AL Most Valuable Player voting.

1942: Four teams and a World Series

After that career year with the Browns, he was bounced around to three different teams in 1942. He started the season with the Browns, but was traded to the Washington Senators on June 1. The

then claimed him off waivers on August 31, 1942. This was a stroke of luck for Cullenbine, sending him to the

1942 World Series The 1942 World Series featured the defending champion 1942 New York Yankees season, New York Yankees against the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals season, St. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals winning in five games for their first championship since a ...

with a .300 on-base percentage and three runs scored for the Yanks, who were upset 4-1 by the overachieving

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

. He was then traded on December 17, 1942, to the

, his fourth team that calendar year.

1943 and 1944: An All-Star for the Cleveland Indians

He played for the Indians throughout 1943–44, putting up solid numbers both years: .289 & .284, with on-base percentages of .407 & .380. He made the All-Star team for a second time in 1944.

1945: A World Series Championship with the Tigers

Shortly after the start of the 1945 season, the Indians traded him back to his hometown

where he had started his major league career. As was the case in 1942, he was fortunate enough to be traded in 1945 to a team that went on to win the American League pennant. In 1945, Cullenbine put up his best numbers in many offensive categories (with many stars still in World War II service). He led the American League with 113 walks, and was 2nd with a .402 on-base percentage. He also hit for power with 18

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (2nd), 93

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

s (2nd), 51

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

s (4th) and a .444

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

(3rd). After leading the Tigers to the pennant, he helped the Tigers win the World Series over the

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

. Despite hitting only .227 in the Series, he drew eight walks for a .433 on-base percentage and scored five runs.

1946 and 1947: Solid offensive production for Detroit

Cullenbine continued his solid offense for the Tigers in 1946 & 1947, with career-high .335

and .477

in 1946. In 1947, he hit a career-high 24 home runs and set a Tiger record with 137 walks, while his .407 on-base percentage was third best in the American League. From July 2–22, 1947, he drew walks in 22 consecutive games, breaking

' 19 in 1941 (as the last .400 hitter at .406), a record still standing at the end of the 2019 season

But with only 104 hits, his batting average dropped to .224 in 1947, and the Tigers released him after the season.

Retirement

Seeking to rebound from his release, he was picked up briefly by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

only to be released again just three weeks into the 1948 season on April 19 without getting into a game.

Career statistics

In 1,181

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, Cullenbine batted .276 (1072 hits in 3879 at bats) with 627

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, 209 doubles, 32

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 110 home runs, 599 runs batted in, an

of .408 and a slugging percentage of .432 over 10 seasons. He finished his career with a .977

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. In 12 World Series games, he hit .244 (10-41) with 8 runs and 6 runs batted in.

Death

Cullenbine died of heart disease at 77 in 1991 at Mount Clemens Hospital in

Mount Clemens, Michigan Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,697 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat, seat of government of Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County and part of the Metro Detroit, Det ...

, and was buried at the Christian Memorial Cultural Center Cemetery in

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Rochester Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

References

External links

New York Times Obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullenbine, Roy 1913 births 1991 deaths Detroit Tigers players Brooklyn Dodgers players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players American League All-Stars Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball left fielders Shreveport Sports players Greenwood Chiefs players Fort Worth Cats players Springfield Senators players Beaumont Exporters players Toledo Mud Hens players