Bob Elliott (baseball)

Bob Elliott
Bob Elliott
Runs batted in	1,195
Teams
	As player Pittsburgh Pirates (1939–1946); Boston Braves (1947–1951); New York Giants (1952); St. Louis Browns (1953); Chicago White Sox (1953); As manager Kansas City Athletics (1960);
Career highlights and awards
	7× All-Star (1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1951); NL MVP (1947);

Robert Irving Elliott (November 26, 1916 – May 4, 1966) was an American

San Francisco, California

, the right-handed batting and throwing Elliott stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).

Elliott contributed some of the happiest memories to the Braves' final

Milwaukee. He was the second Major League third baseman to have five seasons of 100 runs batted in, joining Pie Traynor, and retired with the highest career slugging percentage (.440) of any NL third baseman. He also led the National League in assists three times and in putouts and double plays twice each, and ended his career among the NL leaders in games (8th, 1262), assists (7th, 2547), total chances

(10th, 4113) and double plays (4th, 231) at third base.

Early career with Pirates

Raised in El Centro, California, he attended El Centro Junior College and signed with the Pirates in 1936. Elliott came to the Major Leagues as an outfielder in 1939. As a right-handed batter, his power hitting was hampered by the spacious left field at Forbes Field, but in eight years with the team he compiled more than 100 RBI three times, and he batted .315 in 1943. Manager Frankie Frisch shifted him to third base after the 1941 season, seeking to take advantage of his strong arm while compensating for his lack of speed. Exempted from World War II military service due to head injuries from being hit by a batted ball in 1943, Elliott was named to the NL All-Star team in 1941, 1942, 1944 and 1945, and finished among the top ten players in the MVP voting from 1942 through 1944, placing second in the league in RBI the last two years.

On July 15, 1945, he

Baseball Hall of Fame who was named Pittsburgh's playing manager for 1947. But Herman was aghast at the price — Elliott — the Pirates had paid for him. "Why, they've gone and traded the whole team on me", he said.^[2]

Herman played only 15 more Major League games and the other three players made a total of 127 appearances with the Pirates.

Boston's "Mr. Team"

With a friendlier hitting environment at

Cleveland Indians; he had a pair of home runs in his first two at bats

in Game 5, an 11–5 victory, and was 3 for 3 with a walk in the final 4–3 loss in Game 6.

Although his numbers declined somewhat thereafter, Elliott enjoyed productive years from 1949 through 1951, including a season batting .305 with 24 home runs and 107 RBI in 1950, his sixth 100-RBI campaign. He was named to his last All-Star squad in 1951, his final year with Boston. By the early 1950s he had broken Kurowski's NL record for career home runs at third base, though Eddie Mathews surpassed him within a few seasons.

Late playing career

Elliott's playing career began to wind down in 1952, as he struggled with the

Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts.^[4]

His final Major League game occurred on September 16, 1953, for the White Sox.

Elliott then returned to California in 1954 and played for his hometown team, the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, for the second half of the season. He hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the final game of the year, helping the Padres to win the pennant for the first time since 1937, the team's second year in the PCL (when they were led by 19-year-old San Diegan star Ted Williams).

Manager and coach

He became the Padres' manager in 1955 and managed them through the first 35 games of the 1957 season. He also managed the

Charles O. Finley at season's end, and replaced by Joe Gordon. In 1961, Elliott was a coach for the expansion Los Angeles Angels

during their maiden AL campaign.

Less than five years later, Elliott died at age 49 in

San Diego after suffering a ruptured vein in his windpipe.^[5] He was survived by his wife, Skippy, two daughters, Judy Gale and Cheryl Townsend, and grandchildren Daren Klum, Chris Townsend and Bob Townsend. Elliott is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park

in San Diego.

Elliott was posthumously inducted into both the San Diego Hall of Champions (1967) and the Boston Braves Hall of Fame (1997).

References

^ "July 15, 1945 Boxscore at Retrosheet". Retrosheet.org. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
^ Boston Braves Historical Association Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 3, Autumn 2010
^ "Bob Elliott Career Statistics at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
^ 1952-4-16 box score from Retrosheet
^ Bob Elliott Dies

External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Bob Elliott managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
Bob Elliott at Find a Grave

Achievements
Preceded by Dixie Walker	Hitting for the cycle July 15, 1945	Succeeded by Bill Salkeld

Preceded by Lefty O'Doul	San Diego Padres (PCL) manager 1955–1957	Succeeded by Catfish Metkovich
Preceded by Sibby Sisti	Sacramento Solons manager 1959	Succeeded by Ernie White
Preceded by Franchise established	Los Angeles Angels first base coach 1961	Succeeded by Del Rice

[1] "July 15, 1945 Boxscore at Retrosheet". Retrosheet.org. Retrieved May 5, 2024.

[2] Boston Braves Historical Association Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 3, Autumn 2010

[3] "Bob Elliott Career Statistics at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.

[4] 1952-4-16 box score from Retrosheet

[5] Bob Elliott Dies

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