Milton Edward Welch (July 26, 1924 – February 9, 2019) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Farmersville, Illinois Farmersville is a village in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 689 at the 2020 census. Geography Farmersville is in northern Montgomery County, northwest of Hillsboro, the county seat. Interstate 55 runs along th ...

, and played in one game for 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 ...

, on June 5 during the

1945 Detroit Tigers season 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and ...

Biography

Welch began his professional career with the Lockport Cubs of the class D Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League in 1943. His best season in the minors was with the

Hagerstown Owls The Hagerstown Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The team played in the Inter-State League (1941–1952) and the Piedmont League (1953–1955). Their home games were played in Municipal Stadi ...

of the class B

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

in 1944, when he had a batting average of .302 in 441 at bats. After his appearance with the major league Tigers he continued to play minor league baseball. His last professional season was in 1947 with the

Danville Leafs The Danville Leafs were a professional minor league baseball team that played in the city of Danville, Virginia. During 1935–1942, they were also known as the Danville-Schoolfield Leafs. History Professional baseball first made its appearance ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Welch died on February 9, 2019, at the age of 94.Milton Welch Obituary
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References

External links

, o
SABR Biography Project

1924 births 2019 deaths Baseball players from Montgomery County, Illinois Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Danville Leafs players Detroit Tigers players Hagerstown Owls players Lockport Cubs players Major League Baseball catchers 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-catcher-1920s-stub