Paul Lehner

Paul Eugene Lehner
(Peanuts, Gulliver or Rover)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Hueytown High School
• Debut September 10, 1946
• Final Game June 30, 1952
• Born July 1, 1920 in Dolomite, AL USA
• Died December 27, 1967 in Birmingham, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Paul Lehner was an outfielder for eight years, three in the minors (1946 and 1952-1953) and seven in the Major Leagues (1946-1952). He served in the U. S. Navy during World War II and later was stationed at Marine Corp Auxiliary Air Station in Yuma, AZ (1964-1966) as a Sergeant (E-5) and worked at the Visiting Aircraft Line as Assistant Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Chief (GB).

Before the 1946 season, he was signed by Jack Fournier of the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent. He played for the Browns (1947-1949 and 1951); Philadelphia Athletics (1950-1951); Chicago White Sox (1951); Cleveland Indians (1951); and Boston Red Sox (1952). His minor league career was exclusively in the high minors - two years at AAA and one at AA. He married Patricia Wolfe, on March 20, 1948. His hobbies were fishing and photography.

Lehner was an average outfielder with a weak bat for the Browns during his first four major league seasons. Suddenly, after a trade to Philadelphia in 1950, he hit .309 with 9 homers, far beyond his previous highs. Believing Lehner had hit his stride, the White Sox insisted he be included in the three-team deal that brought Minnie Minoso to Chicago. Lehner's batting average sank and he was out of the majors by 1952. (RL)

Lehner played for four teams in 1951, matching a feat performed by Frank Huelsman in 1904. In all there have been nine players to play for four teams in a season: Huelsman in 1904; Willis Hudlin, 1940; Lehner, 1951; Ted Gray, 1955; Wes Covington, 1961; Mike Kilkenny, 1972; Dave Kingman, 1977; and Dave Martinez (2000). Lehner tied an American League record with 11 putouts in left field in a 13–5 win against the White Sox on June 25, 1950.

He died in hospital at age 47 and is buried at Highland Memorial Gardens in Bessemer, AL.

Major transactions

1949: Traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Philadelphia Athletics on December 13th with Bob Dillinger for Ray Coleman, Frankie Gustine, Billy DeMars, Ray Ippolito (minors), and $100,000 cash.

1951: Traded as part of a three-team trade by the Philadelphia Athletics to the Chicago White Sox on April 30th. The Chicago White Sox sent Gus Zernial and Dave Philley to the Philadelphia Athletics. The Philadelphia Athletics sent Lou Brissie to the Cleveland Indians. The Cleveland Indians sent Minnie Minoso to the Chicago White Sox. The Cleveland Indians sent Sam Zoldak and Ray Murray to the Philadelphia Athletics. Hard-luck lefty Lou Brissie was considered the plum in the proceedings. Rookie Minoso, who hit .339 at San Diego (PCL) the previous year was leading all Indian hitters with a .461 mark at the time.

Sources

Principal sources for Paul Lehner include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs {{{WW}}} (WW), old Baseball Registers {{{BR}}} (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN {{{DAG}}} (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) {{{MORE}}} and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

Related Sites

• Paul Lehner at the SABR Bio Project