Earle Francis Brucker Sr. (May 6, 1901 – May 8, 1981) was an American

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and interim

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. After a long minor league career in the Pacific Coast and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

leagues – and after missing three full seasons (1927–29) in his prime due to arm trouble – Brucker was an unusually old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

player in the Major Leagues. He made his debut on April 19, 1937, seventeen days shy of his 36th birthday. A longtime

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

resident who was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, Brucker threw and batted right-handed, stood (180 cm) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). He made his first appearance in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

in 1924 for the

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

of the Pacific Coast League, but it would be 13 years before he would reach the majors. He was even a playing manager in the Western League during this apprenticeship. He played his entire MLB career (1937–40; 1943) for the Philadelphia Athletics and served as a player-coach or coach under legendary A's manager

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

for nine full seasons, 1941–49. In 241 total games, he batted .290 in 707

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, with 12 home runs and 105

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) 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 the ba ...

. In 1938, his best campaign, Brucker batted .374 with 64

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s in 171 at bats, three homers and 35 RBI. During his long tenure with Philadelphia, he also witnessed the brief major-league career of his son Earle Jr., also a catcher, who appeared in two games for the Athletics at the end of the 1948 season. After leaving the A's, Brucker Sr. coached for the

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 ...

(1950) and the Cincinnati Reds (1952). During the latter season, from July 30 to August 3, he served as interim manager of the Reds for five games during the transition when

Luke Sewell James Luther "Luke" Sewell (January 5, 1901 – May 14, 1987) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1921–1932, 1939), Washington Senators ( ...

was replaced by

Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 193 ...

. Brucker's sixth-place Reds won three of five during his brief tenure. Following that season, Brucker managed in the Cincinnati farm system for two additional campaigns before leaving the game. In 1960, Brucker was also inducted by the

San Diego Hall of Champions The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California until its closure in June 2017. The Hall of Champions housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame - San Diego's sports hall of fame - which is now located at Petco P ...

into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface. Brucker died in

, at age 80.

References

* Spink, J.G. Taylor, Rickart, Paul and Abramovich, Joe, eds., ''The Official 1952 Baseball Register.'' St. Louis:

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, 1952.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brucker, Earle Sr. 1901 births 1981 deaths Baseball players from San Diego Baseball players from Albany, New York Cincinnati Reds coaches Cincinnati Reds managers Lincoln Links players Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Athletics coaches Philadelphia Athletics players Portland Beavers players St. Joseph Saints players St. Louis Browns coaches Seattle Indians players Topeka Senators players