Bob Wellman
Robert Joseph Wellman
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
- School University of Indiana
- High School Purcell High School
- Debut September 23, 1948
- Final Game June 3, 1950
- Born July 15, 1925 in Norwood, OH USA
- Died December 20, 1994 in Villa Hills, KY USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Bob Wellman was an outfielder/first baseman 14 years (1946-1959), all in the minors except for two cups of coffee in 1948 and 1950. He was born on July 15, 1925, in Norwood, OH. He graduated from high school in 1943 at age 17 the went to the University of Indiana for a few months before enlisting. Wellman served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1943-1945) (BN).
Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, he broke into Organized Baseball in 1946 at age 20 with the Tallassee Indians in the Georgia-Alabama League. Sent from the Pirates to the Philadelphia Athletics in an unknown transaction, he played for the Martinsville A's in the Carolina League (1947) and the Lincoln A's in the Western League (1948).
Wellman was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 23, 1948, with the Athletics. He played four games, going 2 for 10. Sent down to the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League (1949) and Savannah Indians in the South Atlantic League (1950), he returned to Philadelphia where he played his final major league game on June 3, 1950 at age 24. Overall in MLB, he had 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 1 RBI and 0 stolen bases at (.280/.357/.480) in 15 games. Even though he never returned to the big leagues, he was featured on a baseball card in the inaugural Topps set, in 1952.
He returned to the minors with the Buffalo Bisons (IL) (1950-1951); Ottawa A's (IL) (1952); the Tulsa Oilers in the Texas League (1952); Yakima Bears in the Western International League (1953); the Charleston Senators in the American Association (1953); the Seattle Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League (1954); Vancouver Capilanos in the Western International League (1954).
He was a player-manager in the Cincinnati Redlegs organization from 1955 to 1959, managed in Philadelphia Phillies chain until 1976, and managed the Jackson Mets in New York Mets chain for four years. He compiled a 1663-1470 record in 25 seasons as a minor league manager between 1955 and 1980. He scouted for the New York Mets from 1981 into the 1990s, discovering and/or signing Roger McDowell and Mickey Weston.
In 1957, his best year in the minors, he had 47 home runs and 171 RBI, hitting .404 at Graceville and .321 at Savannah. Overall in the minors, he had 220 home runs and 1131 RBI and, as a pitcher, was 3-1 with an ERA of 2.72.
He died at age 69 at his home in Villa Hills, KY on December 20, 1994 and is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.
Career Highlights[edit]
- Home Run Titles
- 1954 Western International League 21, also led with 108 RBI
- 1955 Georgia State League 21
- 1956 Georgia-Florida League 30, also led with 165 hits
- 1957 Alabama-Florida League 30, also led with 113 RBI
- Led 1953 Western International League with 39 doubles
Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Sources[edit]
Principal sources for Bob Wellman include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (none) (WW), old Baseball Registers (none) (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN (none) (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) ; The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957 by Dennis Snelling; The Texas League in Baseball, 1888-1958 by Marshall D. Wright; The International League: Year-by-year Statistics, 1884-1953 by Marshall D. Wright; The American Association: Year-By-Year Statistics for the Baseball Minor League, 1902-1952 by Marshall D. Wright; and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.
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