Millard Filmore "Dixie" Howell (January 7, 1920 – March 18, 1960) was a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

who played in six

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

seasons between and , as well as 19 years in the minors. Listed at , 210 lb., Howell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A native of Bowman (or Harold),

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, he grew up in Dehue,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Career

Howell spent three years in the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

' minor league system (1937–39) before joining the big team in 1940. While in the minors, he set a record in the Eastern League by

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who i ...

20 batters in a single game (1939). In three relief appearances for the Indians, he posted a 1.80

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 numb ...

in five

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 inning ...

and did not have a decision. Despite being regarded as one of the finest prospects in the Cleveland organization, recurring illness and sore arm problems kept him from reaching his full potential. In 1943, Howell was purchased by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and assigned to the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. He helped the Syracuse Chiefs clinch the league pennant with a 13–9 mark and was promoted to the major league roster for the next season. But in November 1943, he entered military service with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. He served in France and Belgium during World War II and was taken prisoner by the German troops in September 1944, being liberated by advancing Allied forces six months later. He returned to the United States and was discharged from military service late in 1945. Howell went to spring training with Cincinnati in 1946, playing for Syracuse for the next four years. He had a 17–12 record with the Chiefs in 1948, and appeared in five games with the Reds in 1949. In 1950, Howell was purchased by the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

and assigned to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. He enjoyed a fine season with the Millers, going 14–2 during the regular season and pitching a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

against Columbus on August 10. Recurring arm problems made him consider retiring before returning to Minneapolis in 1952, but he decided to keep playing. Nevertheless, he was sold to

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

on January 20, returned to the Giants on May 15, purchased by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

a week later, and assigned to the Memphis Chicks of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), ...

, where his timely relief pitching led Memphis to the Dixie Series title. Howell remained with the Chicks in 1953 and 1954, before returning to major league action in 1955 with the White Sox as an experienced relief specialist, and for the next four years. His most productive season came in 1955, when he recorded career-highs in wins (8),

(2.93), saves (9),

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 ...

(25) and innings (). In a six-season career, Howell posted a 19–15 record with a 3.78 earned run average and 19 saves in 115 appearances, including 99 strikeouts, 103 walks, two starts, 68 games finished and innings of work. He also helped himself with the bat, hitting a .243

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

(18-for-74) with five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s and nine

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in 124 games, including two doubles, one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

, eight runs, and a .500

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player ...

. After that, Howell pitched for the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association in 1958 and 1959. He died at age 40 after suffering a heart attack while running at the Indians' 1960

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

camp in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

Records

Howell holds two of the most unusual records in major league history: * the longest time (16 years) between his first major league pitching appearance (1940) and his first win (1955) * the all-time regular-season record for most hits (5) without collecting 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 ...

(3 home runs, double, triple in 27

at-bat 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 during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in 1957). As of 2019, he is the only player ever to have a season where his singles total was less than any of the other three totals (doubles, triples, home runs).

References

External links

Baseball Reference
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Dixie 1920 births 1960 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Kentucky Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Indianapolis Indians players Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets players Logan Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Syracuse Chiefs players Wilkes-Barre Barons players United States Army soldiers American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany