Gene Host

Eugene Earl Host
(Twinkles or Slick)

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut September 16, 1956
• Final Game June 23, 1957
• Born January 1, 1933 in Leeper, PA USA
• Died August 20, 1998 in Nashville, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Left-hander Gene Host was signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers before the 1952 season. The Tigers placed the nineteen-year-old pitcher with the Kinston Eagles where his league-leading 26 wins helped his team to the Coastal Plains League pennant and won him a berth on the All-Star team. Gene spent the next four years (1952-1955) in the minors with just average success before he got his chance at pitching to major league hitters.

Host, who was a hard-throwing lefty, was one of the highest-rated mound prospects in the Detroit Tigers organization, but in his only game for the Tigers in 1956 he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings and the following year, 1957, after being traded to the Kansas City Athletics, he lost both of his decisions in 11 games. This was the end of the pitcher's major league time and he finished out at 0-2 with a 7.31 ERA.

Gene stayed in baseball for the next five years (1957-1961) but was never able to have another winning season. He was in the Mexican League with the Monterrey Sultanes in 1960 with little success and finished out his eight-year minor league run in 1961 with the Nashville Volunteers, going 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA. This undoubtedly led to his leaving the game and finishing out his minor league run with a 73-70 record and a 3.33 ERA.

After baseball Host was employed as a machine set-up man at the Ford Motor glass plant in Nashville, TN, where he died August 20, 1998, at age 65. He was cremated and his cremains were scattered over the pitcher's mound at Greer Stadium in Nashville.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page