Bobby Malkmus

Robert Edward Malkmus

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 180 lb.
• High School South Side High School (Newark)
• Debut June 1, 1957
• Final Game May 15, 1962
• Born July 4, 1931 in Newark, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Bobby Malkmus was first signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Braves before the 1951 season. He spent his first year at the second base slot for the Bluefield Blue-Grays of the class D Appalachian League and the 19-year-old hit .273 with 10 home runs before spending his next two years (1952 and 1953) with the United States military during the Korean War. After his return, Bobby played three more seasons in the minors before being called up to the now Milwaukee Braves, during their World Championship season, on June 1, 1957. He hit just .091 (2-for-22) in 13 games but the Newark, NJ, native remembers his first big league base hit "a triple in the Polo Grounds that Willie Mays had to chase down."

Bobby was drafted by the Washington Senators on December 2, 1957 from the Braves in the 1957 Rule V Draft. After filling in around the Washington infield in 1958, he hit .300 with 16 round trippers for the Denver Bears of the American Association, who had purchased him from the Senators in 1959, then spent three seasons (1960-1962) with the Philadelphia Phillies after they obtained him in the 1959 Rule V Draft. On September 16, 1960, 39-year-old former teammate Warren Spahn threw the first no-hitter of his illustrious career against the Phils, striking out 15. He struck out every player in the starting lineup except Malkmus.

Bobby, who remembered his first major league home run as a grand slam off Sam Jones of the San Francisco Giants in 1960, saw his most playing time in 1961, hitting .231 with 7 homers in 121 games. "One of my home runs came off Spahn that year and after I hit it he told me you'll never see that pitch again." Malkmus wound up his six-year major league career in 1962 as a .215 hitter and closed out his 12-season minor league run in 1967 with a .268 average and 94 home runs. Bobby remained in baseball as a minor league manager in the Phillies, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles organizations for nine years before going to work as a supervisor for Fisher Scientific, a medical supplies company, for a few years. But since that time he has been back in the game as a scout in the New Jersey area for the Cleveland Indians. As of last notice Bobby was residing in Union, NJ.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1967	Eugene Emeralds	Northwest League	50-34	2nd	Philadelphia Phillies	none
1968	Spartanburg Phillies	Western Carolinas League	71-54	2nd	Philadelphia Phillies	Lost League Finals
1969	Spartanburg Phillies	Western Carolinas League	58-65	5th	Philadelphia Phillies
1970	Watertown Expos	Northern League	32-38	4th	Montreal Expos	none
1971	West Palm Beach Expos	Florida State League	58-81	11th	Montreal Expos
1972	Lewiston Broncs	Northwest League	54-26	1st	Baltimore Orioles	none League Champs
1973	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	77-64	4th	Baltimore Orioles	Lost in 1st round
1974	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	37-32	3rd	Baltimore Orioles	none
1975	Lodi Orioles	California League	71-69	3rd	Baltimore Orioles	none

Source

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Further Reading

• Gregory H. Wolf: "Bobby Malkmus", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: Thar's Joy in Braveland: The 1957 Milwaukee Braves, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 114-118. ISBN 978-1933599717

Related Sites

• Bobby Malkmus at the SABR Bio Project