Grant Thatcher

Ulysses Grant Thatcher

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut September 9, 1903
• Final Game April 24, 1904
• Born February 23, 1877 in Maytown, PA USA
• Died March 17, 1936 in Lancaster, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Grant Thatcher pitched a couple of seasons for the Brooklyn Superbas. He was a couple of years older than teammate Jimmy Sheckard, who also lived in Lancaster County, PA.

He is one of only two players (through 2007) with the last name Thatcher.

In 1903, when he had most of his innings, he had the lowest ERA on the squad.

Grant had some good years in the minors. In 1898 he went 10-2 for the Brockton Shoemakers. In 1903, before coming to the majors, he was 17-11 for the Los Angeles team. In 1904, he was 14-9 for the Savannah Pathfinders.

An article about Grant states that his appearance for the Superbas in 1904 occurred under interesting circumstances. It was a Sunday game and that was illegal at the time, so word circulated that the police were planning to arrest the starting pitcher and catcher. Brooklyn decided to use Ed Poole to start the game, and when he was arrested, Thatcher became his replacement (and was not arrested). After baseball Thatcher worked in a tobacco warehouse and as a bartender. Source: Grant Thatcher - Maytown to the Majors.

Another article [1] points out that 1903 was an unusual year in Superbas/Dodgers history because rookies had so many starts: Thatcher had four, while Oscar Jones, Henry Schmidt and Rube Vickers had 73 between them.

Related Sites

• Grant Thatcher at the SABR Bio Project