Alan Cochrane Strange (November 7, 1906 – June 27, 1994) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. A

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

, he appeared in 314

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 ...

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

during all or parts of five seasons (1934–35; 1940–42) with 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 ...

and Washington Senators. He was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and attended Northeast High School, alma mater of fellow big leaguers Benny Culp, Bill Hoffman, Bert Kuczynski, Jesse Levis and

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (''né'' Stankiewicz) (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston ...

. He also attended

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. As a baseball player, he threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, and was tall and weighed . After five full seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, Strange made his Major League debut on April 17, 1934, at the age of 27 as a member of the Browns. Strange would go on to

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 i ...

.223 during a big-league career spent mostly with the Browns, although he did spend 20 games in 1935 with the Senators. He hit his lone Major League

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 ( ...

on September 2, 1934, against Phil Gallivan of 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on t ...

. In the field, Strange had a .960 career fielding percentage. Strange played his final MLB game on August 16, 1942,. Much of his minor league career occurred in the top-level

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

and Bremerton Bluejackets. He managed the Rainiers for the final half of the 1959 PCL season. On June 27, 1994, Strange died in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He is buried there at Calvary Cemetery.

Major transactions

*On December 14, 1933, Strange was sent from Hollywood of the PCL to the Browns for

Jim Levey James Julius Levey (September 13, 1906 – March 14, 1970) was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played from 1930 to 1933 for the St. Louis Browns. His professional career began in 1927. He also was a halfback for the Pittsburgh Pirates of t ...

and Wally Hebert. *On June 29, 1935, the Browns sent Strange to the Senators for

Lyn Lary Lynford Horbart Lary (January 28, 1906 – January 9, 1973), nicknamed "Broadway", was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Washington Sen ...

. *On October 3, 1939, the Browns drafted Strange back from a PCL team in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

Other facts

*Strange did not play any major league baseball in 1936, '37, '38 or '39. *Strange got his nickname "Inky" because he worked as a printer in the off-season. *Strange was a teammate of

Harlond Clift Harlond Benton "Darkie" Clift (August 12, 1912 – April 27, 1992) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman for the St. Louis Browns (1934–1943) and the Washington Senators (1943–1945). He was an All-Star for the American League in 19 ...

for five years-longer than any other teammate. *As the

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 ...

batboy In baseball, a bat boy or bat girl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing Baseball (ball), baseballs to the umpi ...

, Strange saved a bat broken by

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

as a memento. In 1934, as manager of the Browns, Hornsby installed Strange as his shortstop. *Strange wore three numbers in his career. From 1934 to 1935 with the Browns, he wore 1. In the 20 games he spent with the Senators in 1935, he wore 28. During his tenure with the Browns from 1940-'42, he wore 2.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Alan 1906 births 1994 deaths Albany Senators players Baseball players from Philadelphia Durham Bulls players Hollywood Stars players Major League Baseball shortstops Minor league baseball managers Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players Pennsylvania State University alumni Portland Beavers players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Seattle Indians players Seattle Rainiers players Spokane Indians managers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Seattle Bremerton Bluejackets players