Ambrose Nicholas Puttmann (September 9, 1880June 21, 1936) was a 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. A left-hander, he played in parts of four

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 ...

seasons, from 1903 to 1906, with the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

and the

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 ...

Early life and career

Puttmann was born on September 9, 1880, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He began his baseball career playing for teams in the West End of Cincinnati before joining a club in Washington Court House in 1902. He ended his season with a 27–16

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and signed with the Helena Senators of the Pacific National League in 1903, taking the spot of Jimmy Wiggs. Puttmann played for both Helena and the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

, also of the Pacific National League, in 1903.

New York Highlanders

In September 1903, he was acquired by the

from Spokane, with manager

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955, ), nicknamed "the Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Re ...

reportedly discovering him. He made his major league debut on September 4 against the Washington Senators, relieving John Deering and allowing two runs, one of which was earned, and striking out three batters in 5.0 innings. He appeared in two more games for the Highlanders in September, throwing

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victories against 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 ...

on September 24 and 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 ...

on September 29. He ended the year with a 0.95

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 19.0 innings. Following the 1903 season, the

National Baseball Commission The National Baseball Commission was the governing body of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from 1903 to 1920. It consisted of a chairman, the presidents of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and American League ...

ruled that Puttmann could play with New York in 1904 not because he jumped to the club before the season concluded, but because the Highlanders drafted him in the fall. He was subsequently fined $200 by the Spokane club for deserting the team. Puttmann split the 1904 season with the Highlanders and

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

of the Eastern League. He appeared in nine games with New York from April 16 to October 10, winning twice while ending the season with a 2.74 ERA. He threw a complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

in his final game of the year on October 12 against the

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. He pitched in seven games with Providence, finishing with a 6–1 win-loss record. He began the 1905 season with New York, but was sent back to Providence in July after appearing in 10 games. He returned to the Highlanders in September and pitched in seven more games, ending the year with a 2–7 win-loss record and a .313

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 ...

as a hitter.

St. Louis Cardinals and return to minor leagues

In November 1905, the Highlanders sold Puttmann's contract to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. However, by April 1906, he was back with the Yankees in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

and sold to the

. He appeared in four games with St. Louis, winning two and losing two in his four starts with a 5.30 ERA. In May, he was sold to the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the

American Association (1902–1997) The American Association (AA) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated primarily in the Midwestern and South Central United States from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997. It was classified as a Triple-A league, which is one grade below Maj ...

. He ended the 1906 season for Louisville with a 18–17 record. Puttmann remained with Louisville through the end of the 1909 season, winning 42 games in 1907. In 1909, an arm injury led to him playing

first base 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 ...

for a team in the Blue Grass League, and by September he was training to transition from a pitcher to a

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 eventually joined the Petersburg Goobers in 1910, before pitching for the Galveston Sand Crabs in 1911.

Semi-pro baseball career

Ambrose Puttmann with the Cincinnati Shamrocks

Puttmann left professional baseball after the 1911 season, and became manager and pitcher of the semi-pro Price Hill

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

team in the Spinney League in 1912. He managed the Cincinnati Shamrocks beginning in 1914. and was named manager of the Holy Family club of the Catholic Athletic Baseball League in 1916. He would go on to pitch and manage for several semi-pro teams in Cincinnati and also umpired in semi-pro and major league exhibition games.

Personal life

Puttmann married Louise Rothan of Cincinnati following the 1904 season. Together they had eight children. After his playing career, he operated a shoe store in Price Hill from 1912 to 1930 and later worked at a liquor store. Puttmann died on June 21, 1936, after suffering a heart attack while visiting a friend in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puttmann, Ambrose Major League Baseball pitchers New York Highlanders players St. Louis Cardinals players Helena Senators players Spokane Indians players Providence Grays (minor league) players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Portsmouth Truckers players Petersburg Goobers players Galveston Sand Crabs players Baseball players from Ohio 1880 births 1936 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen