Howard Francis Fox (March 1, 1921 – October 9, 1955) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

, who played in

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) ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

, Philadelphia Phillies, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, in 9 seasons, between and . During his playing days, Fox stood , weighing . He batted and threw right-handed. The year after Fox's last big league appearance, he acquired a local tavern in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, while he pitched for the

Missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of 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 ...

; a month into the offseason, he was stabbed to death at age 34 during a disturbance at that establishment.

Early life

Fox was born in Coburg, Oregon. He played baseball and basketball at the University of Oregon. Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in 1943, he played for a Pioneer League team in Ogden, Utah, in , followed by stints with minor league teams in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and Syracuse.

Major league career

A hard thrower with a sharp curveball, Fox debuted in MLB in with the Reds, playing seven years before joining the Philadelphia Phillies, in , and the Baltimore Orioles, in . His most productive season came in , for Cincinnati, when he went 11–8, a year after his 6–19 record gave him the most losses of any pitcher in the major leagues. In , Fox collected nine victories, with a 3.83

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 ...

(ERA), in a career-high 228 innings, but suffered 14 losses. Before the 1952 season, Fox was dealt to Philadelphia in a seven-player transaction that included Smoky Burgess, Niles Jordan, Eddie Pellagrini, Connie Ryan, Andy Seminick, and Dick Sisler. In , he played for Triple-A

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and a year appeared in 38 games for the MLB Orioles during their first year in MLB since 1902. In nine major league seasons, Fox posted a 43–72 record, with 342 strikeouts, a 4.33 ERA, in 248 appearances, including 132 starts, 42 complete games, five shutouts, six saves, and innings of work. In 253 games, Fox hit .189, with two

home runs 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 ...

, and 25

runs 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 ...

(RBI). Fox also played in the Venezuelan Winter League (1953–) and in the

1954 Caribbean Series The sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba ( Alacranes del Almendares), Panama (Carta Vieja Yankees), P ...

. In the Venezuelan Winter League, he was pitching for Pastora when popular player

Luis Aparicio, Sr. Luis Aparicio Ortega (August 28, 1912 – January 1, 1971) was a Venezuelan professional baseball personality for 40 years, serving as a player, coach, field manager, and club organizer. (Spanish) Aparicio was the father of Baseball Hall o ...

, of Gavilanes took himself out of a 1953 game and allowed his son,

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, ...

, to pinch hit for his first professional baseball

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 ...

. The younger Aparicio became a star MLB player and member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

Death

While he was a minor league pitcher in the

for the San Antonio Missions in 1955, Fox purchased a San Antonio tavern. That October, he was attempting to kick three men out of the bar and a struggle ensued in front of the business. Fox was stabbed three times and he died as he was trying to crawl back to the door of the establishment. A

San Antonio College San Antonio College (SAC) is a public community college in San Antonio, Texas. It is part of the Alamo Colleges District and the oldest public two-year college in Texas. The college has an average semester enrollment of 22,028 credit students an ...

student, John Strickland, was arrested and two other men were held as material witnesses. Strickland was charged with murder with malice and another man was indicted on an aggravated assault charge in the stabbing injury of Fox's bartender.2 indictments issued in Howie Fox stabbing
'' The Victoria Advocate''. January 27, 1956. Retrieved February 3, 2016.

References

External links

Allen, Malcolm, ''Howie Fox.'' Society for American Baseball Research
Biography Project">Society for American Baseball Research">Allen, Malcolm, ''Howie Fox.'' Society for American Baseball Research
Biography Projectbr>Howie Fox
at Baseball Library

at The Deadball Era
Howie Fox
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Howie 1921 births 1955 deaths 1955 murders in the United States American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Oregon Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Deaths by stabbing in Texas Lácteos de Pastora players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers American murder victims Oregon Ducks baseball players People from Lane County, Oregon People murdered in Texas Male murder victims Philadelphia Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse Chiefs players