Walter Beall
Walter Esau Beall (July 29, 1899-January 28, 1959) was an American major league baseball player who played for the New York Yankees on several championship teams in the 1920s.
Born in Washington, D.C., Beall was a standout pitcher in the minor leagues[1] before his contract was sold by Rochester of the International League to the New York Yankees in August 1924 for $50,000.[2] Beall was a member of the 1927 New York Yankees, a team often considered the greatest ever,[3][4] though he only pitched one inning that year (May 30 against the Philadelphia Athletics).[2]
Beall is remember as having one of the greatest curveballs in the history of baseball, though his lack of control prevented him from becoming a great pitcher.[2] Teammate Babe Ruth noted that Beall possessed the "greatest curveball I ever saw."[5][6]
Beall died in Suitland, Maryland on January 28, 1959.
References
- ^ Matthews, Bob, Fired Saunders has lots of company, retrieved 2007-10-17
- ^ a b c Neyer, Rob (2000). Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 95–96. ISBN 0393320081.
- ^ Stout, Glenn (2002). Yankees Century: 100 Years of New York Yankees Baseball. Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 115. ISBN 0618085270.
- ^ Mosedale, John (1974). The Greatest of All: The 1927 New York Yankees. Dial Press. ISBN 0803732155.
- ^ James, Bill (2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers and Pitching. Simon and Schuster. p. 129. ISBN 0743261585.
- ^ Ruth, George Herman (1992). Babe Ruth's Own Book of Baseball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 86. ISBN 0803289391.