Parke B. Swartzel (November 21, 1865 – January 3, 1940) was a professional baseball

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, ...

who played one season in

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 ...

for the American Association's

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a major league baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a major league baseball team in ...

in . In addition to his one major league season, he played six seasons of professional baseball at the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

level.

Career

Born on November 21, 1865, as Parke B. Swartzel in

Knightstown, Indiana Knightstown is a town in Wayne Township, Henry County, Indiana, adjacent to Rush County, along the Big Blue River. The population was 2,140 at the 2020 census. It is approximately thirty-two miles east of Indianapolis. Knightstown was used i ...

, US, he began his first of professional baseball season in 1886, at the age of 20, with the Leavenworth Soldiers of the Western League. He began the 1887 season with the Soldiers, however he is also credited with playing for the

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Tree Planters, another Western League team. For the 1888 season, Swartzel played for the

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Blues of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

, a class-A level league. His only season in Major League Baseball came in 1889 with the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. He made his major league debut on April 17, a 7–4 victory over 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 ...

in the team's season opener. The Cowboys finished the season with a

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

of 55–82 with two ties with Swartzel making 48

appearances Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

as a pitcher,

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

47 and completing 45. Swartzel had a win–loss record of 19–27, 147

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 4.32

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

, in 410

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, and allowed a league-leading 481

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, and 21

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, along with 334 runs, 197

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s and 117

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

. He made his final major league appearance on October 14, a 7–5 victory over the Colonels. Swartzel returned the Blues for the 1890 and 1891 seasons, then split the 1892 season with the Rochester Flour Cities of the Eastern League and the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnies of the Western league. This was his last season, on record, of his professional baseball career, although he was noted to have been released by the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Rustlers of the Western League in May 1896. He died on January 3, 1940, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, US, and is interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swartzel, Parke 1865 births 1940 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Kansas City Cowboys (AA) players Baseball players from Indiana Leavenworth Soldiers players Lincoln Tree Planters players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Rochester Flour Cities players Minneapolis Minnies players Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen People from Knightstown, Indiana