Lewis Charles Wendell (March 22, 1892 – July 11, 1953) was an American baseball player and team manager. Wendell was born March 22, 1892, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

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 ...

, with his first game in 1915. Wendell's professional career began in with the minor league

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of the Senators generally pl ...

. After three seasons in the minors, Wendell made his MLB debut with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in . After playing in two games with the Giants in , Wendell returned to the minors with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

. Wendell spent the next several seasons moving from team to team in the minors In 1921, he was the first of two managers for the

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–19 ...

in the Class-B South Atlantic League,"Directors Loyal To Lew Wendell's Club In Trouble"
''

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

Herald-Journal'', July 20, 1921, p. 8, col. 3 where he was also the team's starting catcher. Wendell finally made his way back to the majors in with 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 ...

. Wendell played parts of three seasons with the Phillies, and his last MLB game was in . He returned to the minor leagues one more time, playing the rest of 1926 and all of with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

. He died July 11, 1953, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City. He is interred at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City.

Notes

References

1892 births 1953 deaths Major League Baseball catchers New York Giants (baseball) players Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from New York City Minor league baseball managers Albany Senators players Pittsfield Electrics players Waterbury Contenders players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Rochester Hustlers players New London Planters players Jersey City Skeeters players Pittsfield Hillies players Columbia Comers players Greenville Spinners players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Galveston Sand Crabs players Portland Beavers players Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Lafayette Leopards baseball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-catcher-1890s-stub