Ossie Orwoll

Oswald Christian Orwoll

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 174 lb.
• School Luther College
• Debut April 13, 1928
• Final Game August 21, 1929
• Born November 17, 1900 in Portland, OR USA
• Died May 8, 1967 in Decorah, IA USA

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Biographical Information

Oswald "Ossie" Orwoll was a two-way player in the majors for two seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. While Ossie's ERAs in those years were somewhat worse than average compared to the league, they weren't tremendously below average. However, the A's were quite good in those years, and his ERAs were not impressive compared to other A's pitchers such as Lefty Grove and Eddie Rommel. In addition, Ossie played a lot in the field (primarily first base and center field) and was a pinch-hitter, putting up a .294 batting average during the two years.

Ossie had nine seasons in the minors. While he had a pitching record of 57-42, he was mostly a first baseman who hit .305 overall with moderate power. His best year with the bat was 1927 with the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he hit .370 with 8 triples in 99 games. His best year as a pitcher was the same year, when he was 17-6. In the previous year with the Brewers, he had been 12-4. He finished his pro career playing four seasons with the Des Moines Demons. Many years later, he died in Decorah, IA, a couple hundred miles from Des Moines.

He apparently played in the NFL as well in 1926. [1]

He is said to have served in World War I. [2] If so, he would presumably have been under the age of 18.

Related Sites

• Ossie Orwoll at the SABR Bio Project
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Ossie Orwoll