Frank Lamanske
From BR Bullpen
Frank James Lamanske (Lefty)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
- Debut April 27, 1935
- Final Game May 1, 1935
- Born September 30, 1906 in Oglesby, IL USA
- Died August 4, 1971 in Olney, IL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Frank Lamanske pitched a couple games early in the season for the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers managed by Casey Stengel but pitched professionally for almost 20 years.
Lamanske was working as a miner when he turned to baseball as a career. Lamanske started off with the 1926 Waterloo Hawks, going 0-2. Two years later, the 21-year-old hurler had a 20-11 season for Waterloo, one win behind co-leaders Jim A. Grant and Roger Wolff in the Mississippi Valley League. In '29, Frank went 6-6 with a 5.09 ERA for the Seattle Indians and he followed with a 7-14, 5.14 year in Seattle. In 1931, he went 2-2, 4.92 for Seattle and 7-9, 5.63 for the Denver Bears. He was 9-7 the next year with Denver. In '34, Frank went 24-7 for the Davenport Blue Sox, seven more wins than anyone else in the Western League. He also led the WL in innings (262) and strikeouts (216, 54 more than Al Piechota) and made the All-Star team. That earned Frank his chance with Brooklyn.
In addition to the Dodgers, Lamanske pitched for the Allentown Brooks (0-3) and Davenport (12-7) in 1935. In '36, he was 9-8, 4.66 for the San Francisco Missions and he followed with a 9-13, 4.65 year split between the two clubs in San Francisco, CA. He was 14-11 with a 3.05 ERA for the 1938 Oklahoma City Indians. In '39, Frank pitched briefly for the St. Paul Saints but was primarily with the Knoxville Smokies (13-7, 5.37). He was just 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in 1940 for the Dallas Rebels and Fort Worth Cats. At age 34, the veteran had a 8-7, 3.40 year for the Boise Pilots.
In 1942, pitching for Boise in the Pioneer League, he led the league in victories and win/loss percentage with a 23-8, 2.74 year; he also hit .288 with three homers. He went 1-1 for the 1943 San Diego Padres. He finished his career with the '46 Twin Falls Cowboys. Overall, he was 157-126 in the minor leagues.
One source says his name was actually Lemanski but he changed it because reporters kept misspelling it as Lamanske. See Mary Lemanski.
Primary source: Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
