Billy Loes

From BR Bullpen

William Loes

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.

Debut May 18, 1950
Final Game September 14, 1961
Born December 13, 1929 in Long Island City, NY USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Billy Loes was signed off the sandlots of Brooklyn, NY; the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him for a bargain bonus of $22,000. After debuting in the majors in 1950, he missed the 1951 season due to military service.

Loes was a starting pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodger teams that won the pennants in 1952 and 1953 and the World Series in 1955. In 1952 he went 13-8, in 1953 he went 14-8, in 1954 he went 13-5, and in 1955 he went 10-4. The rest of his career he had only one season when his winning percentage was well over .500, and that was in 1957 when he went 12-7 for the Baltimore Orioles. He was named to his only All-Star team that year. He finished up going 6-5 for the San Francisco Giants in 1961.

Loes was a character who was the subject of various anecdotes. Once, when he fumbled a ground ball, he remarked that he lost it in the sun. Another time, he supposedly picked the opposing New York Yankees to win the World Series in 7 games. When confronted by his manager about how he could have done that, Loes is said to have remarked that it wasn't true - in truth, he'd picked the Yankees to win in 6 games instead.