Lee Theo Grissom (October 23, 1907 – October 4, 1998) 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. A 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, ...

, Grissom played 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 ...

between 1934 and 1941 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 ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

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

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. Born in

Sherman, Texas Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area, Sherman–Denison metropolitan statist ...

, and raised in

Red Bluff, California Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. Its population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is located north of Sacramento, California ...

, Grissom stood tall and weighed .

Career

Grissom originally played baseball in the local Farm Bureau League when a local scout spotted him and signed him to a professional contract. He pitched for the Mission Reds in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1933, where he was then discovered by Charles E. Chapman, a college scouter for the Reds, and was signed before the 1934 season to a contract by Cincinnati general manager

Larry MacPhail Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail Sr. (February 3, 1890 – October 1, 1975) was an American lawyer and an executive in Major League Baseball. He served as a high-ranking executive, including club president and general manager, with the Cincin ...

to play for the Reds. Born in

, Grissom made his debut with the Reds on September 2, 1934, against 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 ...

. He pitched four games in 1934, and in 1935 he started three games, winning and losing one each. During the 1935 season, he was recognized by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' as a "Minor Worth Watching". He continued to move between the majors and minors during these two seasons and in 1936. He played six games, starting four and pitching nearly 25

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

. In 1937, Grissom had his best season, and became a regular on the pitching staff. Before the season started, however, he became well known as a result of a flood. In late January,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

had the worst flood in its history, with

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 ...

being covered by as much as of water. Grissom and Gene Schott rowed a boat out from the center field wall, and the resulting photo appeared across the country. During the season, he was selected to the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

in his only appearance, pitching an inning for the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. He pitched in the bottom of the fifth inning,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

and

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-tim ...

, yet surrendered doubles to

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, Manager (baseball), manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Bost ...

and

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 17 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager i ...

, with Cronin scoring a run on Dickey's hit, before ending the inning by making Sam West fly out. He finished the 1937 season with a record of 12–17, an

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 number ...

of 3.26 and 149 strikeouts, and finished tied for 19th in the NL's MVP voting. During the 1938 season, Grissom pitched 51 innings in 14 games. A blurb in the "Odds 'n Ends" section on the inside back cover of Action Comics #1, from 1938, mentions that Grissom is anxious to pitch both games of a doubleheader one day. However, his season ended abruptly when he broke his ankle trying to steal a base. In 1939, his final season as a Red, Grissom finished the season for the pennant-winning Reds with a 9–7 record, a 4.10 ERA, and over 150 innings pitched. He also pitched innings during the

1939 World Series The 1939 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds, who were making their first Series appearance since winning the scandal-tainted 1919 World Series. The Yankees swept the Series in fou ...

loss to the

. After the 1939 season, he was traded to the Yankees for Joe Beggs, but went on to play only five games for New York. On May 15, 1940, Grissom was selected off waivers by the

. He started 10 games for them and finished the season with an ERA of 2.81. In 1941, Grissom played four games before he was traded by the Dodgers to the

for

Vito Tamulis Vitautis Casimirus Tamulis (July 11, 1911 – May 5, 1974) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934 to 1941. Biogra ...

. He played in 29 games for Philadelphia, and while he had an ERA of 2.97, he only earned a 2–13 record.

Later life

After playing his last game on September 24, 1941, Grissom joined the military on June 6, 1942, and was originally assigned to the infantry and later to the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He pitched for a base team under

Burgess Whitehead Burgess Urquhart "Whitey" Whitehead (June 29, 1910 – November 25, 1993) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman from 1933 to 1946. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Whitehea ...

and played for a semi-pro team in Colorado before being discharged in September 1945. He went on to work at his family's farm and pitch for local teams. In 1952 he was tried and acquitted of manslaughter for the death of a man during a barfight in which he participated. He died in

Corning, California Corning is a city in Tehama County, California, Tehama County, California, that is located about south of Red Bluff, California, Red Bluff and about north of Sacramento, California, Sacramento. The population was 8,244 at the 2020 United Stat ...

at age 90.

Personal

His younger brother, Marv Grissom, was a major league pitcher and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

during a long professional baseball career that extended from 1941 through 1978.

References

External links

Baseball in Wartime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grissom, Lee 1907 births 1998 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players New York Yankees players Brooklyn Dodgers players Philadelphia Phillies players National League All-Stars United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Sherman, Texas United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army soldiers Beckley Black Knights players Fort Worth Cats players Nashville Vols players Montreal Royals players