Pete Milne

William James Milne

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut September 15, 1948
• Final Game May 14, 1950
• Born April 10, 1925 in Mobile, AL USA
• Died April 11, 1999 in Mobile, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pete Milne was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians before the 1943 season. The young outfielder was farmed out to the Batavia Clippers of the class D PONY League and played in 69 games, hitting at a .332 clip his first season in pro baseball. Milne was then absent from pro ball for the next two seasons (1944-1945), serving with the United States Navy during World War II.

Pete spent the next two years (1946-1947) in the minors with four different clubs, hitting .326 for the Spartanburg Peaches of the class B Tri-State League in 1947. He was drafted by the New York Giants on November 17, 1947 in the 1947 Rule V Draft. Milne became a .233 hitter in portions of three seasons with the Polo Grounds team from 1948 to 1950.

Milne had his greatest thrill in the majors when he struck his sole career home run in a 7th-inning pinch-hit stand-up inside-the-park grand slam on April 27, 1949 off Pat McGlothin of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and past a diving Duke Snider. New York won the game 11-8, with the homer accounting for the final four runs scored in the game.

Pete spent the last six years of his baseball career (1951-1956) in the minors, hitting an even .300 for the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1951 and having another good season with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1953, hitting at a .323 clip and playing 174 games. He finished up his baseball time in 1956 with the Mobile Bears of the Southern Association and ended his 12-year career with a .293 hitting average and 51 home runs while appearing in 1,282 games.

After baseball Pete owned an automobile agency in his hometown of Mobile, AL, where he died on April 11, 1999, at the age of 74.

See also: Baseball Players of the 1950s