Dick Bokelmann

Richard Werner Bokelmann

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Northwestern University
• High School Arlington Heights (IL) High School
• Debut August 3, 1951
• Final Game May 3, 1953
• Born October 26, 1926 in Arlington Heights, IL USA
• Died December 27, 2019 in Arlington Heights, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"I was 10-2 with an ERA of under 1.00 (0.74) at Houston in the Texas League when I was called up. I came into my first game against the New York Giants in the 8th inning to retire Alvin Dark, Hank Thompson, Eddie Stanky and Whitey Lockman to save it for Harry Brecheen." - Dick Bokelmann, remembering his big league debut

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Dick Bokelmann as an amateur free agent in early 1947 and assigned him to the Fresno Cardinals where he spent the year going 6-6 with a 4.21 ERA. He was with the Class B Allentown Cardinals during 1948, going 15-11 with a 2.82 ERA. Dick was with the Omaha Cardinals and the Rochester Red Wings in 1949, and then with the Houston Buffaloes and Rochester in 1950. A strong 10-2 showing with the Houston team caused the Cardinals to bring him up for a late look in 1951, going 3-3. After an 0-1 start in 1952, he was sent back to the Houston Buffaloes and the Rochester Red Wings for the remainder of the year. After a 6-2 record with Houston, he was given one more last try with the Cardinals in 1953 but had no decisions and ended his three-year major league run with a 3-4 record in 34 games, pitching 68 innings for a 4.90 ERA. He gave it one more shot in 1954, when he went 10-4 with a 1.80 ERA for the Tulsa Oilers. Dick considered the situation and decided to call it a career. He spent eight years in the minor leagues altogether and was 66-51 in 268 appearances, pitching 900 innings, giving up 814 hits and 387 walks for a 3.79 ERA.

Bokelmann, who was a 1947 graduate of Northwestern University, went on to become a sales representative and later a home office administrator for the Prudential Insurance company in the Chicago area, retiring after 30 years in Arlington Heights, IL. He died at the end of 2019, aged 93.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page