Toby Atwell
From BR Bullpen
Maurice Dailey Atwell
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9½", Weight 185 lb.
- School Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
- Debut April 15, 1952
- Final Game September 28, 1956
- Born March 8, 1924 in Leesburg, VA USA
- Died January 23, 2003 in Purcellville, VA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
After attending Virginia Tech, Toby Atwell served for three years in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Toby then started out in pro ball in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
In 1946, he hit .328 for the Danville Dodgers in the Three-I League and then in 1947 he hit .337 for the Fort Worth Cats in the Texas League. He hit .345 for the 1948 St. Paul Saints in the American Association, before being traded to the Chicago Cubs for Carmen Mauro in 1951.
The 28-year-old rookie had a solid 1952 season in the majors with the Cubs, hitting .290 in 107 games, but then in June of the following year he was part of the multi-player trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in which home run star Ralph Kiner went from the Pirates to the Cubs.
Atwell had another good year at the plate for the Pirates in 1954, hitting .289 in 96 games, posting a career-high 102 OPS+. On April 27, he and outfielder Jerry Lynch hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same game, a feat accomplished only seven times previously in big league history.
Atwell, a .260 career hitter in five major league seasons after last playing for the Milwaukee Braves in 1956 stated "My greatest thrill was being named back-up catcher for the National League for the All-Star Game in Philadlephia in 1952, my rookie year. But the game was stopped by rain after five innings before I had a chance to play in it," said Atwell.
After his baseball playing days were over Toby became an independent contractor in the building of new homes. He later was the head of the mill work for the Boise Cascade Company in Springfield, VA. He retired to his home in Purcellville, VA, where he died on January 25, 2003, at the age of 78.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- NL All-Star (1952)
[edit] Sources
Baseball-Reference.com
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
SABR MILB Database:page
