Frank James Wurm (April 27, 1924 – September 19, 1993) 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 ...
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, ...
.
Wurm grew up in
Salem, New York
Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, former ...
and attended Salem Central School. In September 1941, he signed a contract with the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
and began pitching in their
farm system
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, 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 pl ...
.
At age 18 in 1942, he pitched for the
Olean Oilers
The Olean Oilers are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Olean, New York playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League since 2012.
The Olean Oilers were a minor league baseball team which played primarily in the New York–Penn Lea ...
and tied the
PONY League record for strikeouts in a game.
The following February, he was inducted into 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 ...
and was shipped out to
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
by the summer.
According to the ''
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...
'', Wurm, then 19 years old, "was one of the first Americans to
enter Cassino" but was medically discharged shortly thereafter due to "
battle fatigue." He described a friend and fellow soldier dying in his arms after they were both hit by a German artillery shell.
He appeared in 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 Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1944 season. He
started the game, giving up four runs while only getting one out, a
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
.
By 1945, he was a member of the men's
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...
in Vermont.
He eventually captained that team.
After a brief return to the minors in 1946, Wurm voluntarily retired from baseball due to arm injuries.
In July 1967, Wurm, then living in
Lake George, New York, was hired as an area scout for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
.
Born in
Cambridge, New York
Cambridge is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Washington County, New York, Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 1,952 at the 2020 cen ...
, Wurm died in
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...
.
References
External links
Major League Baseball pitchers
Brooklyn Dodgers players
Olean Oilers players
Newport News Dodgers players
Montreal Royals players
Baseball players from Washington County, New York
1924 births
1993 deaths
People from Cambridge, New York
Burials in Warren County, New York
United States Army personnel of World War II
People from Salem, New York
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Middlebury Panthers men's basketball players
Pittsburgh Pirates scouts
20th-century American sportsmen
{{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub