Raymond Franklin "Bobby" Coombs (February 2, 1908 – October 21, 1991) was an American

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 ...

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, ...

. The , right-hander played for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

(1933) and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(1943). His career was unusual in that he went almost ten years between major league appearances. Coombs pitched at

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

and for the

Duke Blue Devils baseball The Duke Blue Devils baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Duke University, based in Durham, North Carolina, United States. The team has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since the conference's founding in ...

team where he was coached by his uncle,

Jack Coombs John Wesley Coombs (November 18, 1882 – April 15, 1957), nicknamed "Colby Jack" after his alma mater, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1906–14), Br ...

. A native of

Goodwins Mills, Maine Lyman is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,525 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Lyman, together with Alfred, is home to Massabes ...

, Coombs made his

major league debut Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB is one of the major professio ...

in relief on June 8, 1933, in a home game against the

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 ...

Shibe Park Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

. His final game, almost ten years later at the age of 35, was in a doubleheader against the

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

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...

on June 6, 1943. Coombs' career totals include 30

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...

, all in relief, a 0–2 record with 17

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

, 2 saves, 49

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

allowed in 47 innings, and an

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of 9.32. Coombs died at the age of 83 in

Ogunquit, Maine Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. History Ogunquit was first a village within ...

. Coombs coached at Williams College from 1946 to 1973, where there is now a Bobby Coombs Field.

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1908 births 1991 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from York County, Maine Philadelphia Athletics players New York Giants (baseball) players Syracuse Chiefs players Birmingham Barons players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Shreveport Sports players Jersey City Giants players Duke Blue Devils baseball players People from Ogunquit, Maine Baseball coaches from Maine Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Duke Blue Devils football players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub