Edward Allen Mickelson (September 9, 1926 – June 27, 2025) was an 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 ...

player. The , Mickelson, a

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-hitting

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, had an 11-season career, all but 18 games of it spent in

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 ...

. His 18 Major League

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took place during three separate trials for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(),

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(), and

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 ...

(). On September 27, 1953, Mickelson drove in the final

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in St. Louis Browns history.

Biography

Mickelson was born in

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

on September 9, 1926, and attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

and

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. He played college baseball for the

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and the

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. He signed with the Cardinals in 1947 and was given his first big-league audition at the end of the 1950 minor league season, during which he batted a composite .413 in two Class B leagues.Minor league page
in

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. Mickelson collected only one hit and two

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 ...

in 12

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s over five games, however, and returned to the minor leagues for almost three full seasons. Acquired by the Browns' organization, Mickelson was called up in September 1953 after a season spent in the Double-A

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 ...

. The Browns were at the end of their 52-year stay in

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; owner

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...

was about to sell the team to an ownership group from

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and the team would be reborn as the Orioles the next season. In the third

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of the Browns' final game on Sunday, September 27, at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383, ...

, facing 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 ...

, Johnny Groth doubled off Billy Pierce with two

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. Mickelson then drove home Groth with an opposite-field single to give the Browns a 1–0 lead.1953-9-27 box score
from

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But Chicago came back to tie the game in the eighth, sent the contest to

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

, and won it 2–1 with a run in the top of the 11th. The RBI single was Mickelson's last big-league hit; he went hitless for the rest of that game, and then was 0-for-12 in his last Major League stint with the 1957 Cubs. Mickelson never appeared for the Orioles. His early-season 1957 stay with the Cubs punctuated four more minor league seasons at the Double-A and Open Classification levels. Although Mickelson collected only three hits, including a double, in 37 MLB

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 ...

(with four bases on balls), he batted .316 with 1,374 hits during his minor-league career. Mickelson died on June 27, 2025, at the age of 98. His death left Billy Hunter as the last living St. Louis Brown.

References

External links

*
Baseball Reference (Minors)

1926 births 2025 deaths Baseball players from LaSalle County, Illinois Chicago Cubs players Columbus Cardinals players Columbus Red Birds players Decatur Commodores players Houston Buffaloes players Industriales de Valencia players Lynchburg Cardinals players Major League Baseball first basemen Montgomery Rebels players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Sportspeople from Ottawa, Illinois Pocatello Cardinals players Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen St. Louis Cardinals players San Antonio Missions players Shreveport Sports players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Washington University Bears baseball players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub