Earl Mossor

Earl Dalton Mossor

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 30, 1951
• Final Game May 16, 1951
• Born July 21, 1925 in Forbus, TN USA
• Died December 29, 1988 in Batavia, OH USA

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Biographical Information

Earl Mossor was a well-traveled player in the minor leagues, but only appeared in three majors league games.

He started out his tour of duty as an unattached pitcher with the Clinton Blues of the class D Tobacco State League in 1946. The right-hander went 21-8 while pitching 239 innings and did not lead in any categories, plus his team lost the league title by half a game and were also beaten in the final round of the playoffs, 4 games to 3.

For whatever reason, Mossor was out of baseball in 1947 and 1948, reappearing in 1949, again unattached, with the Portsmouth Cubs of the class B Piedmont League where he appeared in 14 games and went 2-5 with a 3.92 ERA. Earl was back in Portsmouth again in 1950, still unattached, and proceeded to go 20-11 with a 2.98 ERA while pitching 257 innings. His 20 wins made him a league leader, helping his team to the Piedmont League pennant and putting him on the All-Star team.

All this finally got the Brooklyn Dodgers' attention and they drafted Earl from the Portsmouth organization on December 4, 1950 in the minor league draft. Mossor, now a Dodger farmhand, had a short stay at Ebbets Field in 1951, but the right-hander struggled in his three appearances out of the bullpen, walking seven batters in less than two full innings in accumulating an ERA of 32.40. But swinging the bat from the left side, he did pick up a base hit in his only trip to the plate. This finished his major league career. Earl finished up 1951 with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, going 9-10 with a 4.80 ERA.

Mossor spent the next eight seasons (1952-1959) trying to work his way back to the majors but just couldn't quite get over the hump and the call never came. Earl had his last good year in 1957 when he went 13-8 with a 3.72 ERA in a split season with the Tulsa Oilers and the Atlanta Crackers. 1958 proved to be a disaster as he won only 3 and lost 16 with three different clubs. After a poor start in 1959, Mossor, now 33 years old, left the game.

He spent 12 active seasons in the minors from 1946-1959, wearing the uniforms of 14 different teams in 8 leagues, while winning 120 games and losing 108 with a 3.33 ERA.

Mossor, who was a sheet metal worker, died December 29, 1988, at age 63 in Batavia, OH.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page