Allan Travers
From BR Bullpen
Aloysius Stanislaus Travers (Joe)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut May 18, 1912
- Final Game May 18, 1912
- Born May 7, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA USA
- Died April 19, 1968 in Philadelphia, PA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Al Travers had a most bizarre major league career. One that will never be duplicated. In Philadelphia, on May 18, 1912, Ty Cobb was suspended for beating a fan with a bat in New York on May 15.
The entire Detroit Tigers team protested and refused to play. Faced with a large fine, Tigers owner Frank Navin told manager Hughie Jennings to field any team he could find. Jennings called St. Joseph's University and took seven players from St. Joe's along with two coaches.
The "Tigers" took the field, seven St. Joseph's Hawks and two Detroit Tigers coaches to play the Philadelphia Athletics. The Tigers pitcher was Al Travers, a twenty year old student. Travers pitched a complete game for Detroit. He gave up 26 hits, 24 runs, 14 of them earned. He walked seven A's and struck out one. He was 0-3 at the plate.
The baseball encyclopedia records Al Travers' ERA as 15.75 for his career.
On May 19, the real Tigers returned and Al Travers returned to St. Joseph's University. After he graduated, he entered the seminary, became a Jesuit priest, and served the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as a teacher.
