Ralph Harold Brickner (May 2, 1925 – May 9, 1994) was a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

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) ...

who played 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

in the 1952 season. Nicknamed "Brick", he batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet, 3 inches (1.92 m) tall and weighed . He was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

, and attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

. Brickner was a member of the IU Hoosiers baseball team in 1946–47. Signed originally by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

' organization, he was selected by the Red Sox from the independent Portsmouth Cubs of the Piedmont League in the 1950 minor league draft, and reached the Major Leagues on May 2, 1952. He had a successful

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season with the Red Sox, appearing in 14

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

, 13 in relief, and posting a 3–1

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with one save and an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

of only 2.18 with nine strikeouts and 32 hits allowed and 11

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

in 33

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 inning ...

. But a shoulder injury diagnosed as

bursitis Bursitis is the inflammation of one or more bursae (fluid filled sacs) of synovial fluid in the body. They are lined with a synovial membrane that secretes a lubricating synovial fluid. There are more than 150 bursae in the human body. The bursae ...

curtailed his pitching career. He played his final MLB game on September 17, 1952, and retired after spending 1953 in minor league baseball. Ralph Brickner died in

Bridgetown, Ohio Bridgetown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Green Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 14,407 at the 2010 census. In earlier censuses it was listed as the slightly smaller Bridgetown North CDP. History Bridge ...

, at the age of 69.

External links

Baseball Almanac
* 1925 births 1994 deaths Baseball players from Cincinnati Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Indiana Hoosiers baseball players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Portsmouth Cubs players Terre Haute Phillies players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Utica Blue Sox players Elder High School alumni {{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub