Marlin Stuart

Marlin Henry Stuart

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut April 26, 1949
• Final Game August 8, 1954
• Born August 8, 1918 in Paragould, AR USA
• Died June 16, 1994 in Paragould, AR USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Marlin Stuart, a native of Arkansas, started out in pro baseball in 1940 before serving three years in the military during World War II. He won 15 games for the Little Rock Travelers in 1948 before dividing his time between the Detroit Tigers and the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association over the next two years. On June 27, 1950, "Mott" hurled a perfect game for the Mud Hens in beating the Indianapolis Indians, 1-0.

"Mott" was traded by the Tigers along with Vic Wertz, Dick Littlefield and Don Lenhardt to the St. Louis Browns for Bud Black, Jim Delsing, Ned Garver and Dave Madison on August 14, 1952. In 1953, the Browns' final year in St. Louis, they lost 100 games, finishing in the cellar. Stuart was the only pitcher on the team with a winning record at 8-2.

Used exclusively out of the bullpen by the Browns in 60 appearances, he also led the team in victories. His eight wins as a team high was the lowest in big league history in the 20th Century until 1987 when no pitcher on the Cleveland Indians won more than seven games. Stuart was also with the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees in 1954, closing out his six-year major league career at 23-17 with a 4.65 ERA while appearing in 196 games.

Stuart would spend a few more seasons in the minors, finishing up his eleven-season run with the Tulsa Oilers in 1956 at the age of 37. Marlin's minor league stat sheet showed a 91-79 record with a 4.08 ERA while pitching 1,301 innings. In 1954 the Sporting News conducted a poll of the game's top hitters of the time asking them which pitcher was the toughest for them to face. Ted Williams named journeyman right-hander "Mott Stuart."

Stuart's wife of over 50 years was interviewed in 1991. "Marlin retired from baseball in 1956 and we returned home to Arkansas, where he did some farming before going to work as an heavy equipment operator. In 1980 he suffered an aneurysm followed by a stroke and he's been disabled ever since. He had always been as healthy as he can be until then. He's now confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, but I've been able to care for him at home for the past ten years. It's nice knowing he's remembered for his time in baseball."

Stuart passed away in Paragould, AR on June 16, 1994, at age 75.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page