Al Corwin

Elmer Nathan Corwin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.
• School Pasadena City College
• High School Wallkill High School
• Debut July 25, 1951
• Final Game May 29, 1955
• Born December 3, 1926 in Newburgh, NY USA
• Died October 23, 2003 in Geneva, IL USA

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Biographical Information

"When Bobby Thomson hit the ball I didn't think it had a chance to get out at first. When it did I remember sitting there stunned for a couple of seconds until I realized what it meant." - Al Corwin, on one of baseball's great Rashomon moments, "The Shot Heard 'Round The World"

Before the 1948 season, Al Corwin was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Giants. He spent some four years in the minors and in August 1951 was called up from the Ottawa Giants of the AAA International League by the pennant-bound Giants to possibly give them some help in their run for the flag. Corwin said: "My ERA was pretty good at Ottawa and Leo Durocher thought I might help out a tired pitching staff. I beat the Phillies, 2-1, and shut out Chicago, 2-0, in my first two starts. I didn't even think of it as a pennant race until we got close to Brooklyn. I was just happy to be in the big leagues." Al went 5-1 in 15 appearances in the Giants' run to catch the Dodgers. He continued with the New York Giants as a spot starter and reliever until 1955, finishing with an overall record of 18-10, 3.98 in 117 games. "My arm was dead by 1955 and I had surgery, then I bounced around in the minors until 1960," stated Corwin.

After baseball, Al went to work in plumbing fixture sales before starting up his own business, Grohe America, Inc. in Chicago, producing brass plumbing accessories. He became President and Chief Executive Officer of the company before his retirement in 1994. After a long battle with cancer, he died on October 23, 2003 at his home in Geneva, IL at 76.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page

Related Sites

• Al Corwin at the SABR Bio Project