Frank Joseph "Lefty" Hoerst (August 11, 1917 – February 18, 2000) was an American

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 ...

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, ...

. He pitched all or part of five seasons for the

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 ...

. He made his MLB debut in 1940, pitching in six games with the Phillies while spending most of the season with the minor league Pensacola Pilots. Hoerst played the entire 1941 and 1942 seasons in the majors before serving with the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Hoerst returned to pitch for the Phillies in 1946. He then spent most of the 1947 season back in the minors with the

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

, pitching in just four major league games. After spending all of 1948 with Memphis, Hoerst's professional career was over. A 1935 graduate of

Northeast Catholic High School Northeast Catholic High School opened in 1926 as Northeast Catholic High School for Boys, and was located at 1842 East Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was under the administration of the high school system of the Roman Catho ...

and 1939 graduate of

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

, Hoerst was a two-sports stand out in baseball and basketball. He won championships in both sports while at North (baseball in 1934 and basketball in 1935). He also coached North Catholic basketball for three years in the 1940s and

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at LaSalle after his retirement from Major League Baseball. He was inducted into both the North Catholic Alumni Hall of Fame and the LaSalle University Athletic Hall of Fame. Hoerst died on February 18, 2000, and was interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in

Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania Cheltenham Township is a home-rule township located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township and Jenkintown to the north, and Springfield Tow ...

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1917 births 2000 deaths Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Cambridge Cardinals players Mayodan Millers players La Salle Explorers baseball coaches La Salle Explorers baseball players La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Pensacola Pilots players Memphis Chickasaws players High school basketball coaches in the United States Baseball players from Philadelphia 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub