Doyle Marion "Porky" Lade (February 17, 1921 – May 18, 2000) was a

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, ...

who pitched for the

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 ...

from to . Although nicknamed for his stocky frame, Lade was listed as tall and . Born in Fairbury, Nebraska, Lade began his baseball career when he was signed by 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

as an amateur free agent in 1941. He spent the 1941 season with Oklahoma City of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, where he had a 6–10 record and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.66. At the end of the 1941 season, he was traded to Savannah of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

for Hugh Klaerner. On July 8, 1942, while playing for the

Shreveport Sports The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the C ...

of the Texas League, Lade pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against San Antonio and won the game 1–0, with his solo

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

providing the only run support for Shreveport. In August, he was 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

effective at the conclusion of the Texas League season, and was considered the top prospect of the four players acquired. After the 1942 season ended, Lade signed up for military service, and spent the next few years as a member of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. When he returned to the White Sox for the 1946 season, he was placed on the original major league roster, but instead began the season for Shreveport. On July 9, 1946, Lade's contract was purchased from the Chicago White Sox by the Chicago Cubs. In his time in the minors in 1946, he won 12 games and at one time pitched 32 consecutive scoreless innings. Lade made his major league debut on September 18, 1946, and played three games for the Cubs, losing two and finished with a 4.11 ERA. During the 1947 Chicago Cubs season, Lade had career highs in games started with 25, games played with 34, inning pitched with over 187, 11 wins, 10 losses, and a 3.94 ERA. By the end of the season, sportswriters were declaring the White Sox giving up Lade to be a "mistake" on their part. Over the next three season, Lade was primarily used as a

spot starter This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

. During the 1948 Chicago Cubs season, he played the first two months of the season before being optioned to

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to the disappointment of

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Fo ...

, who had hit five

s off of Lade. He was later recalled and finished the season with the Cubs. He finished the season with a 4.02 ERA, five wins, and six losses in 19 games. The 1949 Chicago Cubs season saw Lade continue his role as a utility pitcher, pitching in 36 games, starting 13, and finishing 12, going 4–5 with an ERA of 5.00 in the process. Lade put up similar stats during the 1950 Chicago Cubs season. In 34 games, 12 of which he started, he won five, lost six, and had an ERA of 4.74. He was on the Cubs' roster through the winter preceding the 1951 season, but was cut May 15, 1951, to reduce the Cubs to a 25-man roster. This signified the end of his major league career, with Lade having played his last game on September 29, 1950. As a hitter, Lade was better than average for a pitcher, posting a .220

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 ...

(36-for-164) with 15 runs, 11 RBI and drawing 14

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 ...

. Defensively, he was a better than average fielding pitcher, recording a .988

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

, committing only two miscues in 171

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

in 537.1

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, which was 27 points higher than the league average at his position. Lade died on May 18, 2000, in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, at the age of 79. He was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and is interred at the

National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, also known as Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2016, had over 78,000 ...

located in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lade, Doyle 1921 births 2000 deaths Baseball players from Nebraska Chicago Cubs players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Mitchell Kernels players Oklahoma City Indians players Salina Millers players Shreveport Sports players People from Fairbury, Nebraska United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen