Merritt Marwood "Mem" Lovett (June 15, 1912 – September 19, 1995) 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 who appeared as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

in one

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 ...

(MLB) game, for the 1933 Chicago White Sox. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed.

Biography

Lovett played on three freshman sports teams at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

: football, basketball, and baseball. He was one of several players that the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

added as

September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

s in 1933; fellow call-up

Milt Bocek Milton Francis Bocek (July 16, 1912 – April 29, 2007) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played parts of two seasons for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his playing career, he was listed at and . ...

went on to play a total of 30 games for the White Sox during 1933 and 1934. Lovett's only major league appearance came on September 4, 1933. Facing the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in a road doubleheader at

Navin Field Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-use stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" ...

, Lovett entered the first game as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

in the top of the ninth inning, with the Tigers leading, 8–0. Batting for center fielder Mule Haas, Lovett came to the plate with two outs and catcher

Frank Grube Franklin Thomas Grube (January 7, 1905 – July 2, 1945) was an American professional baseball and professional football player. In baseball, he was a catcher whose career lasted for 14 seasons (1928–1941), including 394 games in Major League ...

on base. The available play-by-play for the game simply says that Lovett made an out, ending the game; years later, Lovett recounted that he swung at the first pitch thrown to him by Detroit pitcher

Vic Sorrell Victor Garland Sorrell (April 9, 1901 – May 4, 1972), nicknamed "Lawyer" and "the Philosopher", was an American Major League pitcher who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. In 10 Major League seasons, Sorrell had a 92–101 recor ...

, resulting in an infield pop-up, likely caught by first baseman

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...

. Baseball records do not include statistics for Lovett in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. Lovett stated that he was released by the White Sox prior to the 1934 season, after he declined their request to play for a

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in, and county seat of, Gregg County, Texas, United States. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway system, U.S. highways U.S. Route 80, 80 and U.S. Route 259, 259 converge just north of the Sabi ...

. He described then being signed by 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 ...

, at first to play in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Cane ...

, and then in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, before leaving in June to return to his hometown of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, as he did not like the minor league playing conditions. Newspaper reports did mention Lovett playing for the Lincoln Links of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

during May 1934. After his brief professional baseball career, Lovett worked in a bank while also playing

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

baseball. He also was a member of a touring basketball team called the Chicago Circus Clowns, somewhat like the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. He later worked for the Glidden paint company for 40 years, until his retirement in 1977. Lovett died in 1995 in

Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the village was ...

. He had been married twice, and had four children and four step-children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Mem 1912 births 1995 deaths Chicago White Sox players Lincoln Links players Baseball players from Chicago Basketball players from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago Baseball infielders Chicago Maroons baseball players Chicago Maroons men's basketball players Chicago Maroons football players 20th-century American sportsmen