Eli Hodkey

Aloysius Joseph Hodkey

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut September 12, 1946
• Final Game September 28, 1946
• Born November 3, 1917 in Lorain, OH USA
• Died September 13, 2005 in Lorain, OH USA

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Biographical Information

Left-hander Eli Hodkey spent nine seasons in professional baseball from 1938 to 1949. The slender pitcher spent five seasons in the minors before getting his chance at the major leagues. Eli had his first highlight when he went 12-7 in 1939 for the class C Canton Terriers of the Middle Atlantic League and made the All-Star team.

He followed that up by throwing a seven-inning no-hitter on August 20, 1940 against the Charleston Senators of the same league. Hodkey had put up three double-digit winning seasons when he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Boston Red Sox on November 2, 1942 in the 1942 Rule V Draft. Hodkey served in the United States Army Air Force for the next three seasons from 1943 to 1945, during World War II.

He returned from the service in 1946, spending most of the season with the Utica Blue Sox of the class A Eastern League, going 13-7 with a 4.04 ERA in 25 games. Eli was called up for a late season look by the Philadelphia Phillies, and made his big league debut on September 12, 1946. He appeared in two games, gave up nine hits and six runs, losing his only decision, and pitched his final major league game on September 28, 1946.

Hodkey spent three more seasons in the minor leagues with probably his best season to date, when he went 15-5 in 27 games and pitched 184 innings, while appearing with the Utica team again in 1947. He would pitch for the Atlanta Crackers and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1948, winning five and losing seven for his first below-.500 season of his minor league run. Eli spent 1949 with Atlanta again, going 7-8 with a 3.85 ERA and the 31-year-old pitcher called it a career.

Eli left the game after the 1949 season with an 87-59 record while pitching in 203 games and 1,320 innings. He worked for U. S. Steel on the raw material docks as a bridge operator and relief foreman, retiring in 1980. Hodkey died after a three-year illness on August 30, 2005 in Lorain, OH.

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Obituary for Eli Hodkey