Ed Blake

Edward James Blake

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• School Saint Louis University
• High School Central Catholic High School (East St. Louis)
• Debut May 1, 1951
• Final Game April 28, 1957
• Born December 23, 1925 in East St. Louis, IL USA
• Died April 15, 2009 in Swansea, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The St. Louis Cardinals showed a lot of interest in Ed Blake at an early age and even let him pitch batting practice during the 1943 World Series when he was 17 years old. The next year, 1944, the Cards signed him to a contract and he was with three teams that first season, the Columbus (OH) Red Birds, Allentown Cardinals and the Knoxville Smokies. Altogether, he was 5-6 before entering the United States Military in late 1944. Blake entered the Army and was with the 40th Infantry Division as an infantryman in the Pacific Theater of War. He was wounded while in the Philippines and the recovery took nine months, but he was ready for spring training in 1946. He was assigned to the Columbus Cardinals, where he lost his first three times out and then won 13 in a row. He finished the year at 16-8 with a 3.51 ERA.

Ed spent five more years in the minors before getting his first chance at major league hitters when the Cincinnati Reds, who acquired Ed from the Cardinals for Mike Schultz in 1949, gave him a look in 1951. He played briefly with the Reds in 1952 and 1953 and with the Kansas City Athletics in 1957. Ed failed to stick in the majors, winding up decisionless in 8 innings/8 games with a 6.23 ERA. He spent 15 years in pro baseball, mostly in the minors, with the exception of his 8 big league innings. He never played below A ball and mostly pitched in AAA. 1959 was his last year on the mound. Overall, Ed was 142-126 while appearing in 418 games, pitching 2,370 innings and allowing 2,554 hits and 927 walks for a 4.65 ERA.

Ed, who attended Saint Louis University, where he studied law, ended up owning a plumbing business. He was the president of the plumbers local #360 in St. Louis. He retired to Belleville, IL and died in 2009.

Sources

• Baseball-Reference.com
• Baseball Players of the 1950s
• SABR MILB Database:page
• obituary
• Ed Blake, Former Reds and Athletics Pitcher, 83, 1925-2009

Related Sites

• BR Minors page