Turk Farrell

From BR Bullpen

Richard Joseph Farrell

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 4", Weight 220 lb.

Debut September 21, 1956
Final Game September 17, 1969
Born April 8, 1934 in Boston, MA USA
Died June 10, 1977 in Great Yarmouth, England

[edit] Biographical Information

Before the 1953 season Turk Farrell was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent. The nineteen year old was assigned to the class A Schenectady Blue Jays where over a two year span (1953-54), he would build an 18-18 record and a 3.30 ERA. He would spend 1955 in the IL with the Syracuse Chiefs going 12-12 with a 3.94 ERA and in 1956 he would be with the Miami Marlins going 12-6 with a 2.50 ERA.

Turk would get a late season look in 1956 by the Phillies and would lose his only decision but set the groundwork for a 14 year run in the major leagues. Turk was one of the young Philadelphia Phillies pitchers of the late 1950s, along with Jack Meyer and Jim Owens, dubbed the "Dalton Gang" for their fun loving late hour escapades. It was once said of Farrell by a teammate, "When he loses, he loses his temper, but when he wins he's the life of the party." After one tough defeat he broke a mirror with his fist in a Milwaukee bar explaining, "I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw so I threw a punch."

Phillies fans liked what they saw of the 6'4" hard throwing rookie right-hander in 1957 when he was 10-2 plus 10 saves and a 2.38 ERA in 52 appearances out of the bullpen. On September 3, 1957, Farrell was the winning pitcher for the Phils in the last of fifteen home games the Dodgers played at the Jersey City Roosevelt Stadium, 3-2 in twelve innings. After four more seasons of relief work with the Phils, "Turk" was traded to the Dodgers early in 1961.

Farrell was then selected by the Houston Colt 45s in the 1962 expansion draft and converted to a starter. He pitched well but suffered "tough defeats" for the first year club, because of lack of run support, as he was 10-20 in 1962 despite an ERA of just above 3.00. After three more years as a .500 hurler with Houston he returned to the Phillies to wind down a 14 year NL career, working in 150 more games out of the Phils bullpen from 1967 to 1969, finishing with a major league record of 106-111 plus 83 saves and a 3.45 ERA.

Turk had spent a total of 19 seasons in pro baseball and his minor league stats show a 46-39 record with a 4.04 ERA. Farrell was now 37 years old and decided to move on to other things.

Turk was working on an offshore oil rig off Great Britain in the North Sea when he was killed in an automobile accident in Great Yarmouth, England, on June 10, 1977, at age 43.