Patrick Francis Creeden (May 23, 1906 – April 20, 1992) was an American

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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

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 ...

(MLB). He played five games for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 1931. Nicknamed "Whoops", he batted left-handed but threw right-handed and was listed at and . Signed by the Red Sox without having previously played any

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 ...

, Creeden made his debut on April 14, 1931. In eight

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s, he failed to amass a single

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

and committed two errors. He played his final game on April 21, exactly a week after his debut. He never played professional baseball again and died on April 20, 1992, in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

Early life

Creeden was born on May 23, 1906, in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

. His father, Jeremiah Creeden, was a master plumber; his mother was Margaret (''née'' Leary). While his maternal and paternal grandfathers were from Massachusetts, his grandmothers were both immigrants from Ireland. He had an older sister—who worked in the family's plumbing business as a bookkeeper—and a younger brother. Although his family originally resided in

West Newbury West Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Situated on the Merrimack River, its population was 4,500 at the 2020 census. History Originally inhabited by Agawam or Naumkeag peoples, West Newbury was settled by Eng ...

, they moved to Brockton when Creeden started attending school. He graduated from

Brockton High School Brockton High School, established in 1870, is a high school located in Brockton, Massachusetts and a part of Brockton Public Schools. As of 2016, it is one of the largest high schools in the United States and the largest one in Massachusetts wi ...

in 1926.

He proceeded to attend college at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, where he played both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. Creeden played the position of left halfback and was viewed as the "freshman star" of the team during his first year. He was eventually appointed captain in 1930, the year he graduated from college. During his tenure with the team, he earned the nickname "Brockton flash". In baseball, he played as second baseman for the Eagles until his senior year. After graduating in 1930, Creeden coached the

Fordham College Fordham University is a private Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located. Fordham is the oldest Catholic a ...

freshman football team. In 1924, while still a student at Brockton High, Creeden began playing summer baseball for Hyannis in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. He returned to the league in 1925 to play for Chatham, then he was back to Hyannis in 1926, where he played each summer through 1930. After playing briefly for the Red Sox in 1931, he returned to play for the Cape League's Barnstable team for the remainder of that season. He was a member of Hyannis' 1926 and 1927 league championship clubs, and was reportedly a "very smart ball player, especially fast on his feet and one of the league's leading base stealers."

Professional career

In the winter of 1930, the

signed Creeden and announced the move on December 20, even though he had no prior experience in

. In

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

of , Creeden's promising performance led the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

to suggest that he could replace Bobby Reeves as the team's starting

. Although Reeves started the Red Sox's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

game against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(leaving Creeden consigned to the bench), he was still able to make his major league debut in the same game when he entered 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 ...

for

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Rabbit Warstler Harold Burton "Rabbit" Warstler (September 13, 1903 – May 31, 1964) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and second baseman for the Boston Red Sox (1930–3 ...

in the eighth inning and

struck out 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 safel ...

in his first

. After pinch-hitting for two more games against the Yankees, Creeden was finally given a chance to make his fielding debut on April 20 against the Washington Senators. Although he drew a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

, he remained hitless with two more at bats, committed a throwing

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

and was eventually replaced by Reeves, prompting the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'' to criticize Creeden's lackluster performance. The following day, he again started the game and executed what ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described as a "snappy

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

," but went 0 for 3 at the plate and made an error which loaded the bases. It was the last major league game he played and he ended his career hitless with an 0 for 8

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.

Personal life

After his Major League career ended, Creeden went on to enlist in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II. From September 1942 to March 1946, he served as physical education class instructor and occasionally fought in the front line as well. After the end of the war, he served in the Department of Education branch of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Youth Service, working as the superintendent of John Augustus Hall in Oakdale, West Boylston until he retired in 1972. Creeden never married, and died on April 20, 1992, at the age of 85. He was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Brockton.

References

External links

Pat Creeden
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Creeden, Pat 1906 births 1992 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Irish descent Baseball players from Essex County, Massachusetts Boston College Eagles baseball players Boston Red Sox players Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Chatham Anglers players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball second basemen Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Newburyport, Massachusetts Boston College Eagles football players 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References

External links