Charles Thomas Wagner (December 3, 1912 – August 31, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox (1938–42, 1946). Nicknamed "Broadway," he went on to a 50-year career as a

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, 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 players can move on to a higher ...

supervisor,

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and

minor league 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 Nor ...

instructor. His professional relationship with the Red Sox lasted a record 73 years.

Playing career

Born in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

, Wagner signed with the Red Sox in 1935 and made his MLB pitching debut on April 19,

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. After being used in both starting and relief duties, he enjoyed his first full season as a starter in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

. He was the second in a pitching rotation that included

Dick Newsome Heber Hampton Newsome (December 13, 1909 – December 15, 1965) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox between the and seasons. Listed at , 185 lb., Newsome batted and threw righ ...

, Mickey Harris and Lefty Grove. Wagner finished with a 12–8

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and three shutouts, and his 3.07 earned run average was the best on the Boston pitching staff and the third best in the American League, being surpassed only by

Thornton Lee Thornton or ''variant'', may refer to: People *Thornton (surname), people with the surname ''Thornton'' *Justice Thornton (disambiguation), judges named "Thornton" *Thornton Wilder, American playwright Places Australia *Thornton, New South Wale ...

(2.37) and Al Benton (2.97), and over Marius Russo (3.09). In

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, Wagner compiled career-highs in

victories The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

(14, eighth in AL), starts (26),

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 ...

s (17, seventh in AL),

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (52),

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(205), and had a 3.29 ERA. After the season, he left his team to serve in the Navy during World War II. Wagner returned to the Red Sox in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, along with teammates Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky,

Tex Hughson Cecil Carlton Hughson, (February 9, 1916 – August 6, 1993) was a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox (1941–44, 1946–49). He batted and threw right-handed. A nat ...

and Joe Dobson. He pitched his final game on August 8, 1946, ending with a 1–0 mark in 30 innings. In a six-season career, Wagner posted a 32–23 record with 157

s and a 3.91 earned run average in 527 innings pitched. Although posting only a .118 batting average (20-for-170) with just 8

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in his major league career, he was an excellent fielding pitcher, recording a .992

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

with only one error in 127 total chances. His only miscue occurred August 8, 1941 in the fifth inning against the Senators at Fenway Park on an errant pickoff throw.

Later life

Following his retirement as a player, Wagner became the Red Sox' assistant director of minor league operations from 1947 to 1960. He then

scouted ''Scouted'' is an American reality television series that chronicles the discovery process of the next big name in the modeling industry. The show premiered on Monday, November 28, 2011, on the E! cable network. Overview The series showcases lo ...

for Boston from 1961 to 1969 and from 1971 to 1992. He was the Red Sox' Major League

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

season, on the staff of first-year manager Eddie Kasko. He later worked as a special assignment instructor in the Red Sox minor league system, and was still consulted about the organization's prospects into his 90s. He was a staple for years at Reading Phillies games in his hometown, where the press box was named in his honor in 2000. He was crowned as the inaugural "King of Baseballtown" by Reading club in 2003 as he entered the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. Wagner appeared before the Boston faithful on Opening Day 2005. He spoke to the crowd, "Let's Play Ball." Wagner died a year later in 2006 at age 93 after suffering a heart attack in his car following a Reading Phillies game.

Trivia

*Wagner and Ted Williams were roommates as members of the Boston Red Sox.

Notes

External links

''Reading Eagle'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Charlie 1912 births 2006 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players Boston Red Sox scouts Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Rocky Mount Red Sox players Sportspeople from Reading, Pennsylvania United States Navy sailors