Bob Trowbridge

Robert Trowbridge

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Hudson (NY) High School
• Debut April 22, 1956
• Final Game July 24, 1960
• Born June 27, 1930 in Hudson, NY USA
• Died April 3, 1980 in Hudson, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Right-hander Bob Trowbridge was signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before the 1950 season. He was assigned to the Eau Claire Bears of the class C Northern League and the twenty-year-old wasted no time in getting into high gear, putting together a 16-8 record with a 2.97 ERA while pitching 203 innings during his first pro season. Trowbridge spent the next three years (1951-1953) in the United States military. While in the service, Trowbridge pitched for the Nellis Air Force base team, compiling a record of 60-6 while striking out over 1200 batters.

Bob was still in high gear when he returned to the minors, pitching for both the Jacksonville Braves and the Atlanta Crackers in 1954, having a combined record of 18-9 with a 2.90 ERA. 1955 saw him with the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association, going 13-8 with a 3.66 ERA. All these good numbers would put Bob in the "Show" for the next five seasons (1956-1960).

Trowbridge, who was 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 19 games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1956, was knocked out of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in July after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Lee Walls. A few weeks later he returned to pick up his first big league victory against Pittsburgh in relief of Bob Buhl, who was forced to leave after suffering a fracture to his right index finger when he too was hit by a line drive off the bat of Walls.

The righthander was used as both a starter and in relief in going 7-5 for the World Champions in 1957. Two of his wins came down the stretch in September, including his only shutout, a 4-0 three-hitter over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Bob got into only one game during the 1957 World Series, the Game 3 in which the New York Yankees blew out the 1957 Braves, 12-3; he gave up 5 earned runs in a disastrous 7th inning. However his team hung together and went on to beat the Bronx Bombers, 4 games to 3, to become the first team to win a World Series after relocating.

After 1957, Trowbridge became a mediocre pitcher, winning only one game in each of his last three major league seasons and finishing up his five-year big league career with the Kansas City Athletics in 1960 with a career record of 13-13 in 116 games with a 3.95 ERA. Bob had a fine seven-year minor league record from 1950 to 1961, putting up 52 wins against 33 losses with a 3.29 ERA.

From 1961 until his death from a heart attack on April 3, 1980, at age 49 in his native Hudson, NY, Trowbridge worked in security for a State of New York correctional facility.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Further Reading

• Nancy Snell Griffith: "Bob Trowbridge", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: Thar's Joy in Braveland: The 1957 Milwaukee Braves, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 217-220. ISBN 978-1933599717

Related Sites

• Bob Trowbridge at the SABR Bio Project