Eddie Sawyer
Edwin Milby Sawyer
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
- School Ithaca College
- High School Westerly High School
- Born September 10, 1910 in Westerly, RI USA
- Died September 22, 1997 in Phoenixville, PA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Eddie Sawyer was discovered by Paul Krichell. He hit .361 for the Norfolk Tars in 1934, third in the Piedmont League. The next season, Sawyer hit .314 for Norfolk and .325 for the Binghamton Triplets. In 1936 he batted .313 for the Triplets and drove in 98 runs, 8th-most in the New York-Penn League. After starting the '37 season at .345 for Binghamton, he went up to the Oakland Oaks and hit .284 there.
Injuring his shoulder, Sawyer returned to Binghamton to bat .299/~.330/.395 as an outfielder there in 1938. He became a player-manager for the Amsterdam Rugmakers in 1939. He only struck out seven times in 458 AB, led the Canadian-American League with 103 RBI and batted .363. His team won the title. The next year, Sawyer hit .329 with 99 RBI in 120 games.
Returning to old stomping grounds, Eddie hit .277 for Norfolk as player-manager in 1941 and hit .267 and .280 the next two years in the same role with Binghamton to finish his playing career.
Moving from the New York Yankees farm system, where he had been since 1939, he was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944 to manage the Utica Blue Sox. In 1948, he was promoted to the Toronto Maple Leafs then partway into the 1948 season, he took over the Phillies from Dusty Cooke. He managed the young 1950 Phillies, known as the Whiz Kids, to the National League pennant. Let go partway into the 1952 season, he was rehired by the club in mid-1958. In 1960, he resigned after the first game of the season and never managed in the major leagues again. He said "I'm 49 years old and I'd love to live to be 50."
His nephew Roger Sawyer pitched in the minors for most of the 1950s.
Sawyer was known for his sharp memory. In the offseason, Sawyer taught Biology at his alma mater, Ithaca College, and was a special scout for the Kansas City Royals in the early 1970s.
Sources include 1939 Spalding Guide, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database and Baseball's Canadian-American League by David Pietrusza
Notable Achievements[edit]
- NL Pennants: 1 (1950)
| Preceded by Ben Chapman |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1948-1952 |
Succeeded by Steve O'Neill |
| Preceded by Mayo Smith |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1958-1960 |
Succeeded by Gene Mauch |
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.