Ewald Pyle

Herbert Ewald Pyle
(Lefty)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 23, 1939
• Final Game June 30, 1945
• Born August 27, 1910 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died January 10, 2004 in DuQuoin, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Left-hander Ewald Pyle spent fifteen active seasons in professional baseball from 1935 to 1949. He was signed as an amateur free agent before the 1935 season by the St. Louis Browns and assigned to their farm system, where he spent time with four different clubs before getting his first chance at the major leagues in 1939.

Pyle suited up with the Browns in 1939, appeared in 6 games, went 0-2 with a 12.96 ERA and wouldn't get another look until late in the season in 1942 and appeared in two games with a 6.75 ERA, with no decisions. On October 1, 1942 the Browns traded Pyle to the Washington Senators for Frank Croucher and cash.

Pyle spent 18 games with the Washington club in 1943, had a 4-8 record and a 4.09 ERA. He only played for the Griffith Stadium team that season, although his last appearance came on July 25th. On July 3rd, facing his old teammates the Browns, he pitched four hitless innings in relief of Ray Scarborough, then gave way to Mickey Haefner who added 3 hitless innings of his own and got credit for a 6-4 win. It was the first time in baseball history that two relievers had both pitched 3 or more hitless innings for one team in a nine-inning game; the next instance of this feat would not come until July 28, 2015, when Diego Moreno and Adam Warren did it in a 21-5 win over the Texas Rangers. He was picked up by the New York Giants in the 1943 Rule V Draft on November 1st. Ewald was 7-10 for the pitching-starved Giants in 1944, with an ERA of 4.34 in 31 games and pitching 164 innings.

The Giants hung onto Ewald in 1945 until his ERA reached 17.05, in just 6 innings, and on June 16th they traded him along with Joe Medwick to the Boston Braves for Clyde Kluttz. Ewald went 0-1, with a 7.24 ERA in four games and this finished his time in The Show with a five-season record of 11-21 and a 5.03 ERA in 67 games.

Ewald went back to the minors, where he spent the last five years of his career, and had the best season of his run, when he went 15-6 with a 3.01 ERA in 26 games while pitching 203 innings for the 1946 Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. Pyle finished out his pro career in 1949 at the age of 38 with a minor league record of 122-137 in 426 games. He put up a 4.21 ERA in 2,131 innings pitched. Over his minor league years, he had six double-digit winning seasons.

After baseball, Ewald resided in DuQuoin, IL, where he worked and lived until his retirement. He passed away at his home on January 10, 2004 at the age of 93.