Vern Donald Freiburger (December 19, 1923 – February 27, 1990) 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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who played in two games for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

on September 6 and September 15 during the 1941 season. At 17 years of age, he was the youngest player to appear in an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

game that season. Born in Michigan, Freiburger was signed by the Cleveland Indians organization while still in high school. He played one season of minor league baseball, then was given a tryout on the major league roster. After spending 1942 in the minor leagues, he enlisted with the

United States 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 ...

to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Upon returning from military service, he returned to the minor leagues, but was no longer considered a major prospect for the Indians, and he proceeded to play in mostly the lower level minor leagues until 1952. Freiburger then retired to California and died in 1990.

Early career and military service

Vern Donald Freiburger was born on December 19, 1923 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. His amateur baseball career began at the age of 12, when he played for the amateur group of the Detroit Firemen's League; he played

American Legion Baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

during this time as well. While playing

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. In the 20th centu ...

for them, Freiburger was discovered by Indians scout Cy Slapnicka, and was signed to a contract with an invitation to

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 ...

in 1941 at the age of 17. At the time, Freiburger was a student at Detroit Eastern High School with a year left until graduation, which he put on hold to pursue a professional baseball career. After spring training ended in 1941, he was sent to the Flint Arrows of the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

to gain some professional baseball experience. During his time with the Arrows, the team faced the Indians in an exhibition game which they won, 3–2. In the game, Freiburger had two

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

to give the team the win. By the end of the minor league season, Indians farm club director Buzz Wetzel considered Freiburger to be nearly major-league ready, and found him to be one of the best hitters in the minor leagues that season. Freiburger made his

major league debut Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB is one of the major professio ...

a couple weeks later on September 6 in a doubleheader against 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 ...

. He was 17 when he made his major league debut, the youngest player in the

that season. In the game, he had a no hits in four

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, b ...

s. His second and final appearance in a game was 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 ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

, where he had one hit and one

run batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. In 84 minor league games he had a

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 ...

of .318 for the season. Freiburger re-signed with the Indians organization in 1942 and joined the major league team for spring training in part due to the folding of the Michigan State League. In late March, before spring training had concluded, Freiburger was sent to the

Cedar Rapids Raiders Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

of the Three-I League, where he spent the 1942 season. In 115 games, he had a batting average of .301 and 23 doubles. The following season, the Indians had intended to make Freiburger part of the major league roster due to

Hal Trosky Harold Arthur Trosky Sr. (born Harold Arthur Trojovsky; November 11, 1912 – June 18, 1979) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians (1933–1941) and the Chic ...

's retirement making a hole at the

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

position. Instead, he was called to serve in

, and he spent the next three years with the

Later career and life

Upon returning from military service, Freiburger remained on the reserve list for the Indians, but was sent to the minor leagues to get back into baseball shape. He spent the 1946 season with the

Charleston Rebels The Charleston Rebels were a minor league baseball club that existed between 1940 and 1952 in Charleston, South Carolina. The club was a member of the South Atlantic League and played its home games at College Park. The club was affiliated with ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

and the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different United States, American sports league, leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playin ...

of the Eastern League, where he played 69 total games and finished the year with a combined batting average of .222. The following year, he faced two other minor league players for the Wilkes-Barre starting first base job. He lost the position battle, and spent the season with the

Concord Weavers The Concord Weavers were a minor league baseball team based in Concord, North Carolina. Between 1936 and 1951, Concord teams played as a member of the Independent level Carolina League from 1936 to 1938 and the Class D level North Carolina State ...

of the

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a Class D level league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league played from 1913 to 1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in ...

and the Rock Hill Chiefs of the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

, playing in 90 total games between the two teams. Freiburger began the 1948 season with Rock Hill, but was released shortly after the minor league season began. He then signed with the Suffolk Goobers of the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928, folding in June. The most fa ...

. He played in 128 games for the Goobers, and finished 1948 with a .294 batting average. After spending the start of 1949 with Suffolk, Freiburger joined the Emporia Nationals of the Virginia League. In his first game facing his old team in June, he had three runs batted in in a 6–4 Emporia win. Freiburger was named to the Virginia League All-Star Team in 1949 and 1950. He remained with Emporia through the 1951 season when the Virginia League folded, and in his final year with the team was one of only three returning players. Freiburger ended his professional baseball career in 1952 with the Palatka Azaleas of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, playing in 14 games for the team. After retiring, Freiburger became a bus driver for Long Beach Public Transportation, and lived in California with his wife and three children. Freiburger died on February 27, 1990 in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

and was buried in the Good Shepherd Cemetery in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freiburger, Vern 1923 births 1990 deaths Major League Baseball first basemen Cleveland Indians players Baseball players from Detroit Sportspeople from Palm Springs, California Baseball players from Riverside County, California Concord Weavers players United States Navy personnel of World War II Suffolk Goobers players Emporia Nationals players Emporia Rebels players Flint Arrows players Cedar Rapids Raiders players Charleston Rebels players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Rock Hill Chiefs players Palatka Azaleas players 20th-century American sportsmen