Elmer Valo

Elmer Valo
Elmer Valo
	Outfielder
	Born: March 5, 1921; Rybník Czechoslovakia
	Died: July 19, 1998 (aged 77); Palmerton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
	Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
	September 22, 1940, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
	October 1, 1961, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.282
Home runs	58
Runs batted in	601
Teams
	Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1940–1943, 1946–1956); Philadelphia Phillies (1956); Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1957–1958); Cleveland Indians (1959); New York Yankees (1960); Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1960–1961); Philadelphia Phillies (1961);
Career highlights and awards
	Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame;

Elmer William Valo (March 5, 1921 – July 19, 1998), born Imrich Valo, was a

Slovak American professional baseball right fielder, coach, and scout in Major League Baseball

(MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Playing in the major leagues for 20 seasons between

runs batted in (RBI), in 1,806 games, with most of his time spent as a member of the Athletics

franchise, which was then located in Philadelphia and Kansas City.

Early years

A native of Rybník, Czechoslovakia, Valo emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six.

Career

Valo played for the

Federalsburg Athletics of the Eastern Shore League in 1939, and for Wilmington in the Interstate League

in 1940.

In August 1942, he was featured on the cover of the very first issue of Baseball Digest.^[1]

His baseball career was interrupted by a term of service in the

U.S. Army from 1943–1946. Valo was commissioned as a second lieutenant but did not see combat.^[2]

Valo's big-league playing career was affected by three franchise relocations. Valo spent his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Philadelphia A's, then accompanied the team to Kansas City when the club moved after the 1954 season. Valo moved with the

Washington Senators in 1960, the franchise relocated and Valo found himself playing for the Minnesota Twins

.

He was a hustling player and an aggressive line-drive hitter who hit .300 or better five times, with a career-high .364 in 1955. As a right fielder, he was noted for his fearless manner in challenging fences, and occasionally crashed through an outfield wall in pursuit of a ball.

As Valo's career moved into its final phase, he became an outstanding

pinch-hitter. He used his strike zone judgment to post an on-base percentage over .400 in eight of the ten seasons (.414 from 1946 to 1955). In 1960, Valo set major-league pinch-hitting season records for games, walks and times on base

. He also set a major-league career record with 91 walks as a pinch-hitter.

Notable games

Valo stated that he had a plate appearance for Philadelphia on September 30, 1939.[3] If true, Valo would join Ted Williams, Mickey Vernon, and Early Wynn as the only four-decade players of the 1930s to the 1960s. The box score for the game does not list Valo^[4] — he claimed that he was left out by the official scorer, as he was not under contract with Philadelphia at the time.^[3]

On May 1, 1949, Valo became the first major league player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game.^[5] The feat has been matched only by Bill Bruton (1959) and Duane Kuiper (1978). Valo added another bases-loaded triple that year, matching the major league record of three in a season, which was originally set by Shano Collins in 1918.

Valo hit for the cycle on August 2, 1950.^[6]

Later years

Following his retirement as a player, Valo worked with the Indians' organization as a major league

minor league manager, and served as a scout for the Phillies for 13 years, until his death. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1990.^[7] Valo died in Palmerton, Pennsylvania

, at the age of 77 in 1998.

References

^ "Baseball Digest (1942-2023)". www.baseball-almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
^ "Elmer Valo – Society for American Baseball Research".
^ ^a ^b Smith, Red (October 15, 1975). "The Series: What They Talk About". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
^ "Washington Senators 9, Philadelphia Athletics 5". Retrosheet. September 30, 1939.
^ "Philadelphia Athletics 15, Washington Senators 9 (1)". Retrosheet. May 1, 1949.
^ "Philadelphia Athletics 10, Chicago White Sox 3". Retrosheet. August 2, 1950.
^ Hagen, Paul (September 22, 1990). "Phillies Update". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.

External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Elmer Valo at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
Elmer Valo at Baseball Almanac
Elmer Valo at Baseballbiography.com
Elmer Valo Brooklyn Dodgers Photo
Elmer Valo at The Deadball Era
Elmer Valo at Find a Grave

Achievements
Preceded by none	Two bases-loaded triples in a game May 1, 1949	Succeeded by Bill Bruton
Preceded by Roy Smalley Jr.	Hitting for the cycle August 2, 1950	Succeeded by Hoot Evers

[1] "Baseball Digest (1942-2023)". www.baseball-almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 29 January 2024.

[2] "Elmer Valo – Society for American Baseball Research".

[redsmith-3] Smith, Red (October 15, 1975). "The Series: What They Talk About". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2017.

[4] "Washington Senators 9, Philadelphia Athletics 5". Retrosheet. September 30, 1939.

[5] "Philadelphia Athletics 15, Washington Senators 9 (1)". Retrosheet. May 1, 1949.

[6] "Philadelphia Athletics 10, Chicago White Sox 3". Retrosheet. August 2, 1950.

[7] Hagen, Paul (September 22, 1990). "Phillies Update". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.

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v t e Members of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
Inducted as Phillies	Roberts Ashburn Klein Alexander Ennis Bunning Delahanty Williams Hamner Owens Carlton Schmidt Bowa Short Simmons Allen Jones Thompson Callison Luzinski McGraw Cravath Maddox Taylor Magee Hamilton Boone Green Vukovich Samuel Kalas Daulton Kruk Lieberthal Schilling Manuel Burrell Thome Gillick Halladay Abreu Trillo McBride Reed Carpenter Quinn Rolen
Inducted as Athletics	Mack Foxx Grove Simmons Cochrane Dykes Plank Waddell Collins Moses Johnson Valo Bender Coombs Baker Shantz Joost Rommel Fain Miller Chapman Earnshaw Zernial Walberg Oldring