Lew Krausse (krausle01)

Lewis Bernard Krausse Sr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 167 lb.
• High School Media High School
• Debut June 11, 1931
• Final Game September 2, 1932
• Born June 8, 1912 in Media, PA USA
• Died September 6, 1988 in Sarasota, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lew Krausse pitched 14 seasons from 1931 to 1946, two in the Major Leagues and 12 in the minors, losing two years to the Military. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II (1944-1945) (BN).

He pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931 and 1932 and only then played minor league ball. His major league record was 5-1. Although the Athletics won the pennant in 1931, he did not appear in the 1931 World Series. His son, Lew Krausse, pitched in the majors from 1961 to 1974.

On September 2, 1932, Krausse shut out the Boston Red Sox, 15-0. Five days later, he injured his arm in an exhibition game against the Stroudsburg Poconos and though only 20 years old, his big league career was over.

As historian Lyle Spatz notes, in 1961, Lew Krausse, Jr. pitched a shutout for the KC A's in his major league debut, giving the Krausses (father and son) back-to-back shutouts twenty-nine years apart. Even more remarkably, both shutouts came without either player having ever played in the minor leagues.

Krausse began his long minor long career with the 1933 Albany Senators and Montreal Royals, going 1-2. He then moved to the Harrisburg Senators and went 3-4 with a 3.74 ERA. In Harrisburg in 1934, he was 8-11 with a 5.01 ERA. The next season, Lew improved to 15-11, 4.09 for Harrisburg and the Elmira Pioneers. Krausse went 24-9 with a 3.05 ERA for the 1936 Pioneers; he was second in the New York-Penn League in both wins (one behind Hugh Mulcahy) and ERA (trailing Walt Singer).

In 1937, the Elmira ace was 17-9, 3.34 and tied for fourth in the league in wins. The league became the Eastern League in 1938 and Lew was 18-12 with a 2.88 ERA for the Pioneers. He tied for third in wins and was fifth in ERA. In 1939, still just 26/27, Krausse pitched briefly for Elmira and the Columbus Senators, but spent most of the year with the Little Rock Travelers, going 8-11 with a 5.34 ERA. He struggled with Little Rock in 1940 as well (5-9, 4.58) and moved on to the Scranton Red Sox, where he was 4-6 with a 2.72 ERA.

Remaining in Scranton, Krausse was 15-9 with a 2.70 ERA in 1941 and tied for 7th in the EL in wins. In 1942, Krausse was 10-10, 2.39 for Scranton. He moved south a bit in 1943, going 3-2 with the Lancaster Red Roses before he joined the military. Returning as player/manager in 1946, Lew was 11-12, 4.29 for the Federalsburg A's. Overall, Krausse Sr. was 142-117 in the minors.

Krausse also managed the 1947 Americus Phillies, 1948 Vandergrift Pioneers, 1954 Schenectady Blue Jays, 1955 Bradford Phillies, 1957 Mattoon Athletics, 1958 Winona A's, and 1964 Daytona Beach Islanders.

He scouted for the Kansas City A's/Oakland A's, retiring in 1970. He died at age 76 and is buried at Palms Memorial Park in Sarasota, FL.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1946	Federalsburg Athletics	Eastern Shore League	37-87	8th	Philadelphia A's
1947	Americus Phillies	Georgia-Florida League		6th	Philadelphia Phillies		replaced Jack Sanford
1948	Vandergrift Pioneers	Middle Atlantic League		1st	Philadelphia Phillies	Lost League Finals	replaced George Gadaska on July 15
1954	Schenectady Blue Jays	Eastern League	22-34	8th	Philadelphia Phillies		replaced George Stirnweiss (35-49) on July 17
1955	Bradford Phillies	PONY League		2nd	Philadelphia Phillies	Lost in 1st round	replaced by Pat Colgan from May 2 to May 6
1957	Mattoon Athletics	Midwest League	43-82	8th	Kansas City A's
1958	Winona A's	Three-I League	26-22	5th	Kansas City A's		replaced Leverette Spencer (3-1) on July 23
1964	Daytona Beach Islanders	Florida State League		5th	Kansas City A's		replaced Grady Wilson on July 25