Don Gross

Donald John Gross

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 186 lb.
• School Michigan State College
• High School Weidman High School
• Debut July 21, 1955
• Final Game May 25, 1960
• Born June 30, 1931 in Weidman, MI USA
• Died August 10, 2017 in Weidman, MI USA

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Biographical Information

Donald John Gross was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before the 1950 season began. A natural righthander, he explained that he broke his arm as a kid and began throwing left-handed, and stuck with it for the rest of his life. He was assigned to their Muncie Reds farm team in the class D Ohio-Indiana League. He showed great promise in that first year, posting a 15 win, 7 loss record while pitching 187 innings and winding up with a strong 3.13 ERA. This 15-win total was to be the young man's best during his entire 13-season professional baseball career.

In 1951, the Reds kept him in the class D Appalachian League with the Welch Miners long enough to pitch 21 innings and post a 2 win, 1 loss record before sending him up to the class A Charleston Senators of the Central League, where he fell to a 1 win, 3 loss mark. He was then shipped to the class C Pioneer League Ogden Reds where he finished out the season in fine fashion, with a 10 win, and 4 loss record, pitching 114 innings, coming up with a sparkling 1.11 ERA.

Gross was to get to the AA Texas League with the Tulsa Oilers in 1952 and got in the sum total of 2 innings before the United States Military snapped him up for the remainder of the season as well as all of 1953.

Returning from military service in 1954, Don was with the Columbia Reds of the class A South Atlantic League where he came up with a 12 win, 9 loss record while pitching 189 innings with a 3.14 ERA. He spent the tail end of the season with the Tulsa Oilers of the AA Texas League, getting in for only 8 innings.

His performance got him his first shot with the major league parent Redlegs club (as the Cincinnati Reds were known for a few years in the 1950s) in 1955, pitching 67 innings for a 4 win, 5 loss record and a 4.14 ERA. He had begun the season with the AA Nashville Vols of the Southern Association. In Nashville, he had a great 8 win, 2 loss, 127 inning year with a 3.69 ERA, earning him his call-up to the Show in late July.

1956 found Don with the Havana Sugar Kings of the AAA International League, where he pitched 54 innings, won 3 and lost 2 and had a good 1.67 ERA. This performance brought him back to the major league Cincinnati club where he finished out the season with a 3 win, 0 loss record while pitching 69 innings with a 1.95 ERA.

It was in this 1957 season that the young pitcher probably had the most memorable moment of his baseball career. On May 28th, pitching on the road against the Milwaukee Braves, he held them hitless until 2 were out in the bottom of the 8th inning. A no-hitter seemed on the way as the lefthander had also allowed only one base on balls. In as sad a moment as could happen to Gross, Frank Torre hit the first pitch for a single to the outfield, bringing to bat Bobby Thomson, who nailed Gross's first pitch for a triple, scoring Torre and putting the Braves in front, 1-0. The next batter was out on strikes but the damage was done. The Reds failed to score in the top of the 9th and a superb effort was ruined by by two quick swings. Gross was with the Redlegs the entire season, posting a 7 win, 9 loss record in 148 innings, along with a 4.31 ERA.

On December 9th, the Redlegs traded Gross to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bob Purkey, in a player for player deal, and he spent the 1958 season in Pittsburgh, winning 5 against 7 losses. His ERA was a good 3.98 in 75 innings.

After experiencing arm problems, the Pirates sent Gross to the Columbus Jets of the International League in 1959 where he had no decisions before being brought back up to the parent team for the rest of the year. He pitched only 33 innings for a 1-1 record and a 3.55 ERA. Gross continued to have arm problems as the 1960 season began. He was unable to pitch in the first two weeks of the exhibition season but still made the team by the end of spring training. However, Gross was used sparingly. 37 games into the season, he had appeared in only 5 games and pitched only 5 1/3 innings for the Pirates before being sent to the Salt Lake City Bees of AAA Pacific Coast League. During his stay with the Bees he got in 117 innings for a 5 win 6 loss record and a 3.46 ERA. 1960 was the season the Pirates won a dramatic World Series over the New York Yankees, but Gross was long gone by then, having made his last appearance on May 25th.

Gross never again pitched in the major leagues. In 1961, the lefthander pitched for the Macon Peaches of the Southern Association. He rang up 11 victories against only 4 losses, pitched 119 innings and had a good 3.02 ERA. With the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League in 1962, he got in only 4 innings before arm problems put him out for the year. 1963 was spent with the Columbus Jets, where he came up with a 1-1 record in 17 innings, along with a 3.71 ERA. This signified the end of a 13-year tour in professional baseball, having spent time with twelve minor league teams and two major league squads.

He is the uncle of Todd Benzinger.

Further Reading

• Joel Gross: "Don Gross", in Clifton Blue Parker and Bill Nowlin, ed.: Sweet '60: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2013, pp. 100-103. ISBN 978-1-93359-948-9

Related Sites

• Don Gross at the SABR Bio Project