Harold William "Buddy" Pritchard (born January 25, 1936) is an American former 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 ...

and

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, he was signed by 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 ...

as a $30,000 "bonus baby" after

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

stardom at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, but the

Bonus Rule The bonus rule was a contractual rule affecting major league baseball intermittently between 1947 and 1964, meant to prevent teams from assigning certain players to farm teams. The rule stipulated that when a major-league team signed a player to ...

then in effect in

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 ...

kept him on the Pirate roster for his entire

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, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season,

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

. Pritchard appeared in only 23

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 ...

, with 11

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

and one hit, a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, for an .091

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 ...

. Pritchard's lone safety came on May 28 against

Don Newcombe Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played ten non-consecutive seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He began his career in the Negro National League and en ...

of the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

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 ...

; it would be his only hit and his only year in the Major Leagues. Pritchard was born in

South Gate, California South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, with . It is located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. South Gate is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County. The city was incorporated on J ...

. He threw and batted right-handed and had a powerful build for a 1950s shortstop, standing tall and weighing . He had been a batting star for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

— batting .385 in 1956 to lead the team and being named a third team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and a member of the All-Pacific Coast and California Collegiate Baseball Association all-star teams.Rose, George
''One-Hit Wonders''
Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, 2004, page 64 The Pirates outbid 11 of the other 16 Major League teams then in existence for his services. But the inactivity forced by the Bonus Rule may have damaged Pritchard's chances of becoming a Major League star, or everyday player. He was sent to

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

in 1958, and played eight seasons in the Pirate

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, batting .256,Minor league statistics
from

Baseball Reference Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founder ...

then managed Rookie-level affiliates in the Pittsburgh minor-league organization through the late 1960s. He later scouted for the Pirates,

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

and the

Major League Scouting Bureau The Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau is a centralized scouting resource that operates under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. Headquartered in Ontario, California, the MLBSB's efforts supplement the independent, propr ...

References

External links

Major League statistics
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, Buddy 1936 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Chicago Cubs scouts Columbus Jets players 20th-century American sportsmen Lincoln Chiefs players Major League Baseball shortstops Sportspeople from South Gate, California Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Salt Lake City Bees players Savannah Pirates players Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California USC Trojans baseball players

See also

References

External links