Jacob Henry "Ol' Jake" Eisenhart (October 3, 1922 – December 20, 1987) was an American left-handed

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, ...

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 ...

who appeared in one game for the

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

in 1944. The 6'3½", 195 lb. left-hander was a native of

Perkasie, Pennsylvania Perkasie is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Perkasie is southeast of Allentown and north of Philadelphia. Establishments in the borough early in the 20th century included silk mills, brickyards, lumber mills, tile work ...

. Eisenhart is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. After attending

Juniata College Juniata College () is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational normal school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren. It was originally founded as a cent ...

, he was signed by the Reds to a 30-day trial contract, but his only big league action came on June 10, in a home game against 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 ...

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

. He entered the game with two out in the top of the ninth inning, and the Reds behind 18–0. The pitcher he came in to relieve was 15-year-old

Joe Nuxhall Joseph Henry Nuxhall (; July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds f ...

, who had just made his major league debut. Eisenhart walked the first batter he faced, George Fallon, then got the last out, retiring opposing pitcher

Mort Cooper Morton Cecil Cooper (March 2, 1913 – November 17, 1958) was an American baseball pitcher who played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played from 1938 to 1949 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, New York Giants, and ...

on a foul out. His total major league experience ended up lasting only 1/3 of an

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

. He was released by the Reds on June 24. Eisenhart also served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during World War II, and toiled three years in the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

organization, but never made it back to the major leagues. He died in 1987 in

Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Huntingdon is a borough in and county seat of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, in the Middle Atlantic states region of the Northeastern United States. It lies along the Juniata River about east of larger Altoona and west of the state capita ...

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenhart, Jake 1922 births 1987 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Trenton Spartans players Juniata Eagles baseball players Baseball players from Bucks County, Pennsylvania United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Perkasie, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen