Robert Gustave "Bun" Troy (August 27, 1888 – October 7, 1918) was a German-born American 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, ...

who was killed in action while fighting against German forces in World War I. Troy was a sergeant with the "Blue Ridge" Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

; he was shot in the chest during the

Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...

. Before serving in the military, Troy had played five seasons in minor league baseball from 1910 to 1914 and had consecutive 23-win seasons in 1912 and 1913. He pitched one game 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 ...

, for 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 ...

against the Washington Senators, on September 15, 1912. Troy pitched six scoreless innings in a pitching duel with Walter Johnson before giving up four runs in the seventh inning.

Early years

Troy was born in

Bad Wurzach Bad Wurzach (; until 1950 Wurzach) is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is a well known health-resort destination, and home to the oldest bog spa (in German: ''Moorheilbad'') in Baden-Württemberg, as well as o ...

in southern Germany in 1888. He moved with his family to western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, growing up in

McDonald, Pennsylvania McDonald is a borough in Allegheny and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 2,056 at the 2020 census. Of this, 1,661 were in Washington County, and 395 were in Allegheny County. G ...

Professional baseball career

Minor leagues

In 1909, Troy played for an independent baseball team in his hometown of

. He pitched 17 games, lost only two games, and had 187 strikeouts for an average of 11 strikeouts per game. His performance and his size (6 feet, 4 inches, 200 pounds) brought him to the attention of Frank Haller, a scout for the

Philadelphia 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 ...

. He was reportedly signed by the Phillies in September 1909, but did not appear in any games for them. Troy attended spring training with the Phillies in 1910, but did not make the club. In May 1910, ''Sporting Life'' reported that the "elongated twirler" had been signed with the

Johnstown Johnnies Johnstown may refer to: Places Australia * Johnstown, Queensland, a locality split between the Southern Burnett Region and the Gympie Region, Queensland Canada * Johnstown, Nova Scotia * Johnstown, Ontario, United Counties of Leeds and Grenvil ...

of the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

. However, the ''Sporting Life'' reported two weeks later on his release and added: "He had the speed and curves, but lacked control, and acted too much like an amateur on the ball field." After his release by Johnstown, Troy played the remainder of the 1910 season for the McKeesport Tubers of the

Ohio–Pennsylvania League The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1905–1912) was a Class C (baseball), Class C and Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded b ...

. The following year, he played for the Steubenville Stubs in the same league. He compiled a 12–19 record in his two seasons in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League. Troy garnered considerable acclaim in 1912 when he compiled a 23–14 record for the

Adrian Lions Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

of the

Southern Michigan League The Southern Michigan League was a Minor League Baseball circuit which operated between 1906 and 1912. It was classified as a Class D league from 1906 to 1910 and as a Class C league from 1911 to 1912. After that, the league was known as the South ...

. In late August 1912, the ''Sporting Life'' reported that Troy Pitcher had pitched and won a double-header against Kalamazoo, pitching the full nine innings in each game, allowing only three hits in the first game and five hits in the second.

Detroit Tigers

Troy's performance at Adrian drew the attention of the

. The ''Sporting Life'' described Troy as "a big fellow with lots of steam and a good curve ball" and reported that Detroit's scouts "saw in him a real diamond in the rough." Accordingly,

Frank Navin Francis Joseph Navin (April 18, 1871 – November 13, 1935) was an American businessman and baseball executive who was the president of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He was part-owner from 1908 to ...

, the owner of the Tigers, gave orders to sign him up immediately. Troy was called up by the Tigers after Adrian's season had ended and appeared in one game, on September 15, 1912. He was the losing pitcher in a 6–3 loss to the Washington Senators. Facing

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...

, Troy held the Senators scoreless through six innings, but gave up four runs in the seventh inning. In all, Troy allowed nine hits, three

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, one

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

, and four earned runs in 6-2/3 innings.

Return to the minors

Troy returned to the Adrian Lions in 1913. He had another strong year for the Lions, appearing in 43 games and compiling a 23–16 record. In 1914, Troy played for the Pittsfield Electrics in the

Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...

where he appeared in 36 games and compiled a 19–13 record. In all, Troy played five seasons of minor league baseball, appeared in 159 games, pitched 914-1/3 innings, and compiled a 77–62 record.

Military service and death

During World War I, Troy served in the 80th Division (nicknamed the "Blue Ridge Division") of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

(AEF). Troy held the rank of sergeant in the 319th Infantry Regiment (Company G), which was made up of men from western Pennsylvania and some from Eastern Ohio. The 80th Division fought at the

First Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in March 1918, the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

in September 1918, and the

which lasted from September 1918 until the end of the war on

November 11, 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

. Troy was killed from wounds, reportedly a bullet to the chest, received in combat in the Argonne Forest in October. He died at Evacuation Hospital 8 at Petit Maujouy. Troy was initially buried in France, but his remains were brought to

Monessen, Pennsylvania Monessen is a city in southwestern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Monongahela River. The population was 6,876 at the 2020 census. Steel-making was a prominent industry in Monessen, and it became a third-class ...

(where his parents had moved from McDonald), and a military funeral was held there in August 1921. A crowd of 1,000, including members of the 80th Division, packed the First Presbyterian Church and escorted his body on a caisson drawn by four black horses to Robinson's Run Cemetery where a 21-gun salute was fired, taps played, and Troy's remains buried. Troy was one of eight

players known either to have been killed or died from illness while serving in the armed forces during World War I. The others were

Alex Burr Alexander Thomson Burr (November 1, 1893 – October 12, 1918) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in one inning of one game for the 1914 New York Yankees and was later killed in a military aviation training accident while ...

‚ Harry Chapman,

Larry Chappell La Verne Ashford "Larry" Chappell (February 19, 1890 – November 8, 1918) was an American professional baseball player who played from 1913 to 1917 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Boston Braves. Chappell died of Spanish Flu whil ...

‚

Harry Glenn Harry Melville "Husky" Glenn (June 9, 1890 – October 12, 1918) was an American professional baseball player from 1910 to 1918. He played a portion of the 1915 season in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He al ...

, Eddie Grant‚

Newt Halliday Newton Schurz Halliday (June 18, 1896 – April 6, 1918) was an American baseball player. He appeared in a portion of one game in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 19, 1916. Halliday had three putouts ...

, and

Ralph Sharman Ralph Edward Sharman (April 11, 1895 – May 24, 1918), nicknamed "Bally", was an American baseball outfielder. He played professional baseball from 1915 to 1917, including 13 games in Major League Baseball for the 1917 Philadelphia Athletics. He ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Bun 1888 births 1918 deaths People from Ravensburg (district) Sportspeople from Tübingen (region) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States People from McDonald, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Washington County, Pennsylvania Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball players from Germany Major League Baseball pitchers McKeesport Tubers players Steubenville Stubs players Adrian Lions players Adrian Champs players Pittsfield Electrics players American military personnel killed in World War I United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers