Marv Goodwin was born on January 16, 1891 in Gordonsville, Virginia, outside Charlottesville. He went 21-25 pitching for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds from 1916 to 1925. He was 1 of the 17 pitchers permitted to continue throwing any of the banned pitches that fell under the category of "spitball" in 1920. Had he lived a full life, this would be the most interesting fact about him: His pitching career was not otherwise notable.
He missed the 1918 season, serving in World War I as a pilot, becoming an aviation instructor for the U.S. Army, but hadn't yet been sent overseas when the Armistice was signed. He remained in the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. On October 18, 1925, he was conducting a training exercise at Ellington Field in Houston, when he went into a tailspin and crashed. He died 3 days later, only 34 years old.
He had been a player-manager with the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes in 1924, hence his reserve stationing in Houston. Given that fact, his age, and the fact that he made only 4 major league appearances in 1925, he may have played his last major league game anyway. That doesn't mean, however, that his baseball career was over: He could still have become a major league manager or pitching coach.
Had he survived the crash, and lived to be 71, in 1962, he would have seen Houston gain a Major League Baseball team.
*
October 21, 1925 was a Wednesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season wouldn't start for another month. So there were no scores on this historic day.
No comments:
Post a Comment