Bobby Tiefenauer

Bobby Gene Tiefenauer
(Pete)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Desloge High School
• Debut July 14, 1952
• Final Game September 21, 1968
• Born October 10, 1929 in Desloge, MO USA
• Died June 13, 2000 in Desloge, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

When Bobby Tiefenauer signed as an amateur free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1948 season, he could have had no idea that he would be involved in ten different trades throughout his 19-season pro baseball career. A knuckleball-throwing relief specialist who was in and out of the major leagues several times between 1952 and 1968, righthander Tiefenauer worked in over 1,000 games in pro baseball from 1949 to 1969.

Bobby's big league time included three stints with both the St. Louis Cardinals in 1952, 1955 and 1961 and the Cleveland Indians in 1960, 1965 and 1967. He was also with the Houston Colt 45s in 1962, the Milwaukee Braves from 1963 to 1965 and also with the New York Yankees in 1965 and the Chicago Cubs in 1968, with it all adding up to a record of 9-25 in 179 games.

His minor league stops included stays in all three of the AAA Leagues with the Rochester Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, the Columbus Red Birds, Omaha Cardinals and Charleston Senators of the American Association and the Portland Beavers and Tacoma Cubs of the Pacific Coast League. While with Toronto, he led the International League in appearances with 68 in 1957 and 64 in 1958; in the latter year, he was 17-5 with a league-best 1.90 ERA. Overall, he worked in 849 minor league games with a record of 162-96 with an excellent 2.66 ERA.

After his playing career ended, Tiefenauer spent two decades with the Philadelphia Phillies as a minor league and major league coach. He was a coach for the Peninsula Pilots in 1980, Reading Phillies in 1983, Portland Beavers in 1985-1986, Spartanburg Phillies in 1987, and Batavia Clippers in 1988. He died June 13, 2000, at age 70 in his native Desloge, MO.

In 2008 he was elected to the International League Hall of Fame.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• Bobby Tiefenauer at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page