Wayne Ambler

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Wayne Ambler
Runs batted in
73
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 1989 Duke Sports Hall of Fame inductee

Wayne Harper Ambler (November 8, 1915 – January 3, 1998) was an American

stolen bases in 271 games played
.

Ambler was discovered in 1933 by an amateur baseball

Bachelor's Degree in business administration. In 1989, he was inducted in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame. Ambler entered military service in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor and later reached the rank of Lieutenant
fighting in World War II. Ambler did not return to professional baseball after returning home from service.

Early life

tuition while he attended Duke University
.

Ambler was born on November 8, 1915, to Charles and Anne Ambler in

baseball park of the Athletics, to take batting practice with the team.[1] On Labor Day in 1933, Ambler was introduced to Jack Coombs, who was the Duke Blue Devils baseball manager at the time.[1] When propositioned to join Coombs at Duke University, Ambler recalled that he told him that "[he] didn't know where the hell Duke was".[1] Ambler stated that he had wanted to attend college, but was financially incapable.[1]

Ambler accepted Coombs's invitation to go to Duke University with him.

Bachelor's Degree in business administration.[3]

Baseball career

Philadelphia Athletics

In 1937, Ambler signed with the

runs batted in (RBIs) in 56 games during his first season in the majors. On the defensive side, Ambler played all of his 56 games at second base, committing 12 errors in 268 total chances, giving him a .955 fielding percentage
.

While the team was in

telegraph from Mack telling him to report back to the majors.[1] The reason being Mack needed a back-up shortstop going into the season after their other shortstop suffered an injury.[1] Ambler later revealed that before Mack called on him to play shortstop, he had not played the position since high school.[1] In 1938, Ambler's contract was worth US$1,500.[1] Due to his financial situation, Ambler was forced to ride the bus and subway to Shibe Park from his family's house.[1] On May 13, 1938, in a game against the New York Yankees, Ambler went five-for-five, a career high single-game hits total.[5] On the season, Ambler batted .234 with 42 runs, 92 hits, 21 doubles, two triples and 38 RBIs in 120 games played. Unlike the season before, Ambler played the majority of the season at shortstop (116 games), while still playing limited time at second base (four games). In 1939, Ambler re-signed with the Athletics and signed a contract worth US$2,500.[1]
During the season, he batted .211 with 15 runs, 48 hits, 13 doubles and 24 RBIs.

Later career

After the 1939 season, the Athletics sold Ambler to the

regular season.[3]
In his final season in professional baseball, Ambler batted .245 with 126 hits, 10 doubles, three triples and two home runs in 139 games played. The Indians used Ambler as a shortstop, playing all of his 139 games at that position, committing 31 errors in 702 total chances.

Military career

Ambler enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941 and served in World War II.[3] He stated that he was prompted to do so after the attack on Pearl Harbor.[3] Ambler operated guns on liberty ships.[3] Amber explained, "I was a gunnery officer on a merchant ship. What they called 'armed guard' service. They put a Navy gunnery officer and 26 Navy gunners on these merchant ships. All we had to do was man the guns and defend the ship. I was in both oceans, but mostly the Atlantic."[3] Ambler fought in Normandy and took part in the Battle of the Bulge in Antwerp.[3] He was waiting stationed in the Philippines while his ship waited orders when Japan surrendered.[3]

Later life

After completing his four-year service in the United States Navy, Ambler returned to his home-town of Abington, Pennsylvania.

semi-professional baseball.[1] During his semi-pro career, Ambler made US$25 a game and sometimes played against Negro league teams.[1] Ambler also coached Little League Baseball, including a 1960 all-star team featuring Reggie Jackson.[1] In 1988, he retired as a truck driver.[1] On January 3, 1998, Ambler died in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
, at the age of 82.

Personal

Ambler married Sara Bird on November 26, 1939, and with her, fathered two children; Sally Ann, born 1943 and Wayne Hunter, born 1947.[1]

References

General reference
  1. "Wayne Ambler Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  2. "Wayne Ambler Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
Inline citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Sargent, Jim. "Wayne Ambler Biography". The Baseball Biography Project. The Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Wayne Ambler". Duke Sports Information. GoDuke.com. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bedingfield, Gary. "Wayne Ambler". Baseball in Wartime. Baseball in Wartime. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Wayne Ambler 1937 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Wayne Ambler 1938 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 August 2010.

External links

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