Robert George Weiland (December 14, 1905 – November 9, 1988) was a professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the Major Leagues from 1928–40. He played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

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 p ...

, and

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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Biography

Weiland was born on December 14, 1905, on Chicago's South Side to Christ and Mathilda Weiland and he also had an older sister. In his professional career, he was listed at tall and weighing . He attended Lowell School for the first eight years and then went to

Lane Tech High School In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

for the next four years in Chicago. Unfortunately, he played for two unsuccessful teams in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

for the first six and a half years in the majors, pitching for the White Sox and Red Sox from 1928 to 1934 and putting up a combined record of 20–50. Then he moved from to the Indians in the mid of 1934, it still took some time for him and then he was 1–5 for the balance of the year. There may not have been any better chances of finishing with a lot of money with the Red Sox due to the team finishing in eighth again in 1932. Weiland's ERA of 4.51 was distinctly better than the team's own 5.02. Weiland began to have issues with throwing the ball over the plate, walking 97 while only striking out 63 and putting up a walks and hits per inning pitched of 1.676. Weiland improved walks and hits per inning to 1.373 and the team then finished seventh. He started with a 1–5 record for the Red Sox in 1934, but then was bought by the

. His pitching improved, but also put up a 1–5 record for Cleveland causing it to be 2–10 on the season. Then in November for ten grand, he was sent to the

where he did not pitch that much either, spending most of his time in the minor leagues. Weiland's was then sent to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937 and improved again, going 15–14 and 16–11. This could be due because he was on a much better team, but his ERA decreased a large amount, too. Weiland's final major league game came on April 26, 1940. He played for five teams in total: Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and the St. Louis Cardinals. He died of a stroke and congestive heart failure on November 9, 1988, in Chicago.

References

External links

*Interview with baseball player Bob Weiland on Mar. 17, 1976, in Chicago, Florida, by

Eugene Murdock Eugene Converse Murdock (April 30, 1921 – July 23, 1992) was an historian and author best known for his research into baseball. Early life and education Eugene C. Murdock was born in Lakewood, Ohio, on April 30, 1921, and attended school the ...

(1 hr. 20 min. in two parts) (sound recording) available at Cleveland Public Library's Digital Gallery
Part 1 of 2Part 2 of 2
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiland, Bob 1905 births 1988 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players St. Louis Browns players Cleveland Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players Baseball players from Chicago