Melvin Edward Bosser (February 8, 1914 – March 26, 1986) was a

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), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the

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in 1945. The 31-year-old

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right-hander was a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Bosser is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his

major league debut 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), ...

in relief on April 29, 1945, in a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals at

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) an ...

. Fifteen days later he made his first big league start and was the winning pitcher in a 5–4 game against the

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. His next win came in relief on May 30, also against the Phillies. His last appearance was on June 9, and then he was released by the Reds the next day. In a total of 7 games he was 2–0 with 2

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opposing batter. If a player is lis ...

, 0

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, and 3 games finished. In 16

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

he gave up 9

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and walked 17. However, he allowed only 6 earned runs, so his final

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was 3.38. Bosser died at the age of 72 in

Crossville, Tennessee Crossville is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Crossville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,071 at the 2020 census. History Crossville developed at the inters ...

. He was interred in the Crossville City Cemetery in Crossville, Tennessee.

References

External links

1914 births 1986 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Cincinnati Reds players Lumberton Auctioneers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub