Dave Odom

David Everett Odom
(Blimp or Porky)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 220 lb.

• Debut May 31, 1943
• Final Game September 13, 1943
• Born June 5, 1918 in Dinuba, CA USA
• Died November 19, 1987 in Myrtle Beach, SC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Dave Odom was a pitcher 10 years (1936-1946), one full season in the Majors (1943), one year in independent leagues (1938) and ten in the minors (1936-1946), losing one year to the Military. Odom was born on June 5, 1918, in Dinuba, CA. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1936, he broke into Organized Baseball at age 18 with Mitchell in the Nebraska State League; Jamestown in the Northern League (1936); and the Albuquerque Cardinals in the Arizona-Texas League (1937). He was declared a Free Agent on April 1, 1938 and played in Canadian Independent Leagues in 1938 including Bellingham in the Western International League.

Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics, he played for Winston-Salem in the Piedmont League (1939); Shelby in the Tar Heel League (1939); Bassett in the Bi-State League (1939); Beaumont in the Texas League (1939); Mayodan - South Boston in the Bi-State League (1940); Winston-Salem in the Piedmont League (1940); and Sanford in the Bi-State League (1941).

Odom served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in World War II (1941-1943)(BN). When he reported to Philadelphia he was released April 14, 1943. On April 21, 1943 he was signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Braves. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.) At 24 years of age, he broke into the big leagues on May 31, 1943, with the Braves. He played for Boston in 1943 where he played his final MLB game on September 13, 1943 at age 25.

He returned to the minors with Hartford in the Eastern League (1944); the Indianapolis Indians in the American Association (1944-1945); the Nashville Volunteers in the Southern Association (1945); Wilmington-Angier-Fuqua-Sanford in the Tobacco State League (1946); and Greensboro in the Carolina League (1946); ending his baseball career at age 28.

In 1943, his only year in MLB, he was (0-3) with 1 complete game in 3 games started, 17 strikeouts, 30 walks, 4 hit batsmen and 0 shutouts in 54⅔ innings pitched with an ERA of 5.27 and a WHIP of 1.537 in 22 games In 1941, his best year in the minors, he was (16-9). Overall in the minors, he was (72-58).

He played both professional baseball and football. He worked 30 years for A T & T in Greensboro, NC, 25 years as plant manager. He retired to Myrtle Beach, SC where he was active in real estate. He died at age 69 in in Myrtle Beach from a heart attack at his home on November 19, 1987.

Sources

Principal sources for Dave Odom 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) and The Southern Association in Baseball, 1885-1961 by Marshall D. Wright and The American Association: A Baseball History, 1902-1991 by Bill O'Neal. and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

Related Sites

• Dave Odom at the Baseball Almanac
• Bio at the Baseball Page
• and a full Bibliography from SABR's The Baseball Index (TBI)