Bob Wiesler

Robert George Wiesler

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Beaumont High School (St. Louis)
• Debut August 3, 1951
• Final Game May 10, 1958
• Born August 13, 1930 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died August 10, 2014 in Florissant, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bob Wiesler, a hard-throwing lefthander, was signed by the New York Yankees out of a high school in St. Louis, MO before the 1949 season. He would go on to lead his loop in strikeouts three years in a row.

He was assigned to the Independence Yankees of the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League in his first professional season and helped his team to the league pennant and playoffs with a 12-11 record and a league-leading 240 strikeouts while pitching 185 innings. Bob came right back the following season with the Joplin Miners of the Western Association, helping his team to the 1950 league pennant and leading the league with a 2.35 ERA and 277 strikeouts. He was also chosen for the All-Star team.

The Kansas City Blues of the American Association had him in 1951 and he went 10-9 with a 2.92 ERA and again led his league with 162 strikeouts in 194 innings. He was called to Yankee Stadium on August 3, 1951 and lost his only two decisions in four games. Wiesler was then called up for military service, missing the 1952 season, while serving with the United States Army during the Korean War.

After returning from military service, Bob had stints with the Yankees in 1954 and 1955, going 3-2 in five starts the first season and 0-2 in 16 games in 1955. He was traded to the Washington Senators prior to the start of the 1956 campaign and had a record of 3-12 for the Senators that year, and then went 1-1 for the same club in 1957. He finished out his major league run with the Griffith Stadium club in 1958, with no decisions in four appearances. That finished out Wiesler's six-season major league run with a 7-19 record and a 5.74 ERA while appearing in 70 games.

Bob spent three more seasons in baseball (1959-1961), all in the minors, ending his 10-year career with a 91-78 record and a 3.70 ERA while appearing in 276 games and pitching 1,415 innings. After baseball, Wiesler was employed with the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis and retired in Florissant, MO where he died in 2014 a few days shy of his 84th birthday.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page
  
• American Association Almanac interview