Ted Wieand
From BR Bullpen
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wieand
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
- Debut September 27, 1958
- Final Game April 24, 1960
- Born April 4, 1933 in Walnutport, PA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Ted Wieand was christened Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wieand, when he was born in Walnutport, PA, just a month after FDR was sworn in as president of the United States for the first time. For whatever the reason the future pitcher came to be called by the name of the earlier President, Theodore Roosevelt.
"Ted" was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1952 season and farmed out to the class B Allentown Cardinals of the Interstate League, where he went 10-11 with a 3.61 ERA his first season in the pros. Wieand would have two good years, going 12-5 with Winston-Salem Cardinals in 1953 with a 2.31 ERA and going 16-9 with a 3.23 ERA while pitching 223 innings for the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League in 1956.
The right-hander would be traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds on December 5, 1957. After two decent years with the Houston Buffaloes and the Seattle Rainiers, he would get a brief look by the Reds on September 27, 1958, making it into one game out of the Reds bullpen, with no decisions.
After winning 16 games for the 1959 Havana Sugar Kings, plus three more in the post season playoffs, he was given another shot by Cincinnati, in 1960, where he made five appearances, lost his only decision, and this would be it for Wieand in the major leagues.
Ted woud drop back into the minors and spend 1961 with the AAA Richmond Virginians of the International League. He would finish out his minor league career with the Amarillo Gold Sox in 1962.
His eleven-season minor league run would show him with a 109-108 record and a 3.56 ERA while pitching 1,816 innings.
After baseball Wieand was employed with Schuler Plumbing and Heating Service in Allentown, PA, until 1983, when he became a heating and plumbing foreman at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Wieand retired in Slatington, PA, in 1998.
