We performed a site update on April 16, 2013. Please let the admin know if you User_talk:Admin#APRIL_16.2C_2013 encounter any issues. All updates have been performed.
Bob Wellman
From BR Bullpen
Robert Joseph Wellman
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
- Debut September 23, 1948
- Final Game June 3, 1950
- Born July 15, 1925 in Norwood, OH USA
- Died December 20, 1994 in Villa Hills, KY USA
Contents |
[edit] Biographical Information
Bob Wellman was an outfielder/first baseman 14 years (1946-1959), all in the minors except for two cups of coffee (1948;1950). He was born on Wednesday, July 15, 1925, in Norwood, OH. He graduated from High School in 1943 at age 17. Wellman served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1943-1945) (BN).
Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, he broke into Organized Baseball in 1946 at age 20 with Tallassee in the Georgia-Alabama League. Sent from the Pirates to the Philadelphia Athletics in an unknown transaction, he played for Martinsville in the Carolina League (1947) and Lincoln in the Western League (1948).
Wellman was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 23, 1948, with the Athletics. Sent down to the Syracuse Stars in the International League (IL) (1949) and Savannah in the South Atlantic League (1950), he retunred to Philadelphia where he played his final MLB game on June 3, 1950 at age 24. Overall in MLB, he had 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 1 RBI and 0 stolen bases at (.280/.357/.480) in 15 games.
He returned to the minors with the Buffalo Bisons (IL) (1950-1951); Ottawa (IL) (1952); the Tulsa Oilers in the Texas League (1952); Yakima in the Western International League (1953); the Charleston Senators in the American Association (1953); the Seattle Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League (1954); Vancouver in the Western International League (1954).
He was a player-manager in Cincinnati Reds organization from 1955-1959, managed in Philadelphia Phillies chain until 1976, and managed the Jackson Mets in New York Mets chain for four years. Compiled 1663-1440 record in 25 seasons as minor league manager between 1955 and 1980. He scouted for the New York Mets from 1981 into the 1990s, discovering and/or signing Roger McDowell and Mickey Weston.
In 1957, his best year in the minors, he had 47 home runs and 171 RBI, hitting .404 at Graceville and .321 at Savannah. Overall in the minors, he had 220 home runs and 1131 RBI and, as a pitcher, was (3-1) with an ERA of 2.72.
He died at age 69 at his home in Villa Hills, KY on December 20, 1994 and is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- Home Run Titles
- 1954 Western International League 21, also led with 108 RBI
- 1955 Georgia State League 21
- 1956 Georgia-Florida League 30, also led with 165 hits
- 1957 Alabama-Florida League 30, also led with 113 RBI
- Led 1953 Western International League with 39 doubles
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
[edit] Sources
Principal sources for Bob Wellman include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (none) (WW), old Baseball Registers (none) (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN (none) (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) ; The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957 by Dennis Snelling; The Texas League in Baseball, 1888-1958 by Marshall D. Wright; The International League: Year-by-year Statistics, 1884-1953 by Marshall D. Wright; The American Association: Year-By-Year Statistics for the Baseball Minor League, 1902-1952 by Marshall D. Wright; and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.
