Fritz Knothe

Wilfred Edgar Knothe

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Passaic High School
• Debut April 12, 1932
• Final Game August 30, 1933
• Born May 1, 1903 in Passaic, NJ USA
• Died March 27, 1963 in Passaic, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Wilfred "Fritz" Knothe played in the majors in 1932 and 1933, getting 615 at-bats. He was primarily a third baseman.

Knothe was born in 1903 in Passaic, NJ. Through 2010, nearly a dozen major leaguers have been born in Passaic, inluding Mike Jorgensen and Mark DeRosa. His brother George Knothe, however, was born in Bayonne, NJ.

Fritz was famous at an early age from his participation on the "Wonder Team", the long-time undefeated Passaic High School basketball team, on which his brother also played.

Fritz didn't come to the majors until he was nearly 29 years old. His years in the minors included two years at Des Moines, two at Portland and two at Seattle.

He and his brother George both made their major league debuts in April of 1932. George played for the Philadelphia Phillies, and while Fritz was with the Boston Braves, in 1933 he was traded to the Phillies.

Fritz was the regular third baseman on the Braves in 1932, a team which went 77-77. He had a better range factor than the other players who appeared that year at third base, although his fielding percentage at .947 was not as good as that of Randy Moore, who played 31 games at the position.

The following year Fritz continued to hit for a low average, and was traded in mid-season for Pinky Whitney, who took over the third base duties for the Braves (although Whitney's batting average wasn't a whole lot higher). Fritz hit .150 during the remainder of the season with the Phillies and then spent 1934 in the minors with the Kansas City Blues. His brother George had been at Kansas City during parts of 1929 to 1931.

Related Sites

• Fritz Knothe at the SABR Bio Project