Thomas Herbert "Muscles" Upton (December 29, 1926 – March 24, 2008) was a professional athlete. He was a right-handed

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 ...

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 ...

who played for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

from 1950 to 1951, and for the Washington Senators in 1952.

Early life and education

Upton was born in Esther, Missouri. In between playing professional baseball, he attended

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

and

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He also attended

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (Southeast or SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing t ...

, but did not play for them.

Athletic career

Upton began his professional (minor league) career in 1944, after being signed by 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 ...

. He split the 1944 season between the

Norfolk Tars The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League (1916), Eastern League from ...

and Kansas City Blues, hitting a combined .140 with a .162 slugging percentage in 222 at-bat. He did not play in 1945 or 1946, however in 1947 he played for the Tars and

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League ( ...

, hitting .227 in 100 games. For the Ventura Yankees,

Quincy Gems The Quincy Gems were a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Quincy, Illinois. The Gems were originally a part of the Central Illinois Collegiate League and joined the Prospect League with several other CICL teams prior to the 2009 ...

and Triplets in 1948, he hit .271 in 398 at-bats. In 638 at-bats for the

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

in 1949, he hit .265 with a career-high four home runs. Upton was drafted from the Yankees by the Browns in the 1949

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, and on April 19, 1950, he made his big league debut. He was the Browns' regular shortstop that year, hitting .237 with two home runs and seven stolen bases in 389 at-bats. He showed a good eye at the plate, walking 52 times and striking out only 45 times. In 52 games in 1951, Upton hit only .198, so he spent 34 games with the Kansas City Blues that year as well, hitting .233. On November 27, 1951, he was traded with

Sherm Lollar John Sherman Lollar Jr. (August 23, 1924 – September 24, 1977) was an American professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1946 to 1963, most prominently as a member of the Chic ...

and Al Widmar to 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 ...

for

Joe DeMaestri Joseph Paul DeMaestri (December 9, 1928 – August 26, 2016), nicknamed "Froggy", was an American professional baseball player who was a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox (1951), St. Louis Browns (1952), Philadel ...

, Gordon Goldsberry,

Dick Littlefield Richard Bernard Littlefield (March 18, 1926 – November 20, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Car ...

, Gus Niarhos and

Jim Rivera Manuel Joseph "Jungle Jim" Rivera (July 22, 1921 – November 13, 2017) was an American professional baseball outfielder. In 1944, he was found guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to life in prison. He played baseball on the prison baseball ...

. Upton was then traded by the White Sox to the Senators for Sam Dente.Baseball Reference
/ref> He appeared in five games for the Senators in 1952, going hitless in five at-bats. On May 3 of that year, Upton was traded with

Irv Noren Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kansas C ...

to the Yankees for

Jackie Jensen Jack Eugene Jensen (March 9, 1927 – July 14, 1982) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox. He was named the AL's Most Valuable P ...

, Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder and Archie Wilson. In the minors the rest of the year, he hit .226 in 72 games split between the Beaumont Roughnecks and the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. On April 30, 1952, Upton played in his final big league game. Overall, he hit .225 in 181 major league games. In the minors, he hit .239 in 530 games.

After baseball

Upton died in 2008 at age 81 in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...

Personal life

Upton's brother

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

also played major league baseball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Tom Major League Baseball shortstops St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Syracuse Chiefs players Ventura Yankees players Quincy Gems players Binghamton Triplets players Norfolk Tars players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Beaumont Roughnecks players Baseball players from Missouri 1926 births 2008 deaths People from Park Hills, Missouri