Charlie Sproull

Charles William Sproull

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut April 19, 1945
• Final Game September 21, 1945
• Born January 9, 1919 in Taylorsville, GA USA
• Died January 13, 1980 in Rockford, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Right-hander Charlie Sproull spent eleven seasons in professional baseball from 1938 to 1948. Ten of those years were in the minors and his one season in the major leagues came in 1945, with the National League Philadelphia Phillies.

Sproull spent his first seven seasons in the minors (1938-1944) and in four of those seasons, he had double-digit winning years. His best, and major league door-opening year, came in 1944 when he threw a 16-7 record and a 2.50 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. He finished high-up in most categories and helped his club to the League Championship. The pennant-winning Brewers had two managers during this season...Charlie Grimm and Casey Stengel.

Good pitching brings good things and on November 1, 1944 Charlie was drafted by the Philadelphia Blue Jays from the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association in the year's 1944 Rule V Draft. The 1944 Blue Jays became the 1945 Phillies, destined to finish dead-last in the 1945 season, with a 46-108 record, that put them 52 games behind first place. It's tough to pitch in that kind of climate and Sproull struggled to a 4-10 record and a 5.94 ERA, appearing in 34 games and pitching 130 1/3 innings. Needless to say this was Charlie's one and only shot at the show, especially with players returning from World War II.

Sproull would spend three more seasons (1946-1948) in baseball, all in the minors. He fell to a tough season in 1946 when he went 3-15 in a split year with the AAA Columbus Red Birds and AA Houston Buffaloes. He would be with Houston again in 1947 at 5-5 and finished up his professional baseball career with three AA teams in 1948 at 2-5. Charlie finished his 10-year minor league run with an 87-96 record, appearing in 291 games while pitching 1,547 innings.

After baseball, Charlie became a tool and die maker for National Lock Company for thirty years, retiring in 1978. Charles William Sproull died at the age of 61 on January 13, 1980 at Rockford Memorial Hospital in Rockford, IL.