Randy Gumpert

Randall Pennington Gumpert

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.
• High School Birdsboro High School
• Debut June 13, 1936
• Final Game September 23, 1952
• Born January 23, 1918 in Monocacy, PA USA
• Died November 25, 2008 in Wyomissing, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Randy Gumpert's portfolio carries some significant information. Signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Athletics before the 1936 season, he had his major league debut on June 13th that year, against the Chicago White Sox and beat the Sox on a two-hitter. Also, just 90 days, later on September 13th, he was the starter for the Athletics against 17-year-old Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians, in a match-up of the youngest starting pitchers in major league history. The young 18-year-old 6' 3" right-hander went on to pitch 17 years in professional baseball (1936-1955) and his overall won-loss record was be 120-118 with a 3.95 ERA, while appearing in 543 contests. Gumpert lost three years (1943-1945) of his career while serving in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. But there is a lot more.

With all that, trivia buffs will tell you that he's the guy who gave up Mickey Mantle's first home run on May 1, 1951 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was a 450-foot shot into the New York Yankees' bullpen.

Randy grew up on a seven-acre farm in Monocacy, Pennsylvania. His father wrote Connie Mack a letter in 1934 and told him that his son had some possibilities. Mack subsequently invited Gumpert to work out at Shibe Park and for the next two summers he pitched batting practice when the A's were in town. In retrospect he was not happy about how he was handled by the A's: "Mr. Mack should never have thrown me to the wolves," laughed Gumpert. "I wasn't a Bob Feller, a Mel Ott or a Ken Raffensberger."

Randy was released outright by the Athletics in July of 1939 and picked up by the Yankees organization. After his military service was over he had his finest season with the Yankees in 1946, going 11-3 with a 2.31 ERA. Randy went 4-1 with a 5.43 ERA in 1947 and, after being 1-0 in 1948, he was placed on waivers and signed by the Chicago White Sox on July 25, 1948, after going 16-4 during his two plus seasons for the Pinstripes.

Gumpert won a career-high 13 games for Jack Onslow's sixth-place White Sox in 1949. He wound down his pitching days with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators in 1952, for a major league career record of 51-59 with a 4.17 ERA.

Not quite ready to quit yet, Randy, at the age of 35, stepped down a notch and continued his pitching career in the AAA minors. He would go three more seasons, finishing up with the Charleston Senators of the American Association in 1955, giving him a minor league career record of 69-59 with a 3.74 ERA.

In his post-playing career, Gumpert managed the 1956 Bradford Yankees, 1956-1958 Kearney Yankees and the 1960 St. Petersburg Saints. He also served as a Yankees scout for 20 years and was a scouting supervisor for the Major League Scouting Bureau for several years. Gumpert died on November 28, 2008 at the age of 90, at the Highlands of Wyomissing, the retirement community where he resided in Wyomissing, PA.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (1951)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1949)
• Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1947 (he did not play in the World Series)

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1956	Bradford Yankees	PONY League	3-9	--	New York Yankees	--	Team disbanded on May 18
	Kearney Yankees	Nebraska State League	35-28	3rd	New York Yankees	none
1957	Kearney Yankees	Nebraska State League	30-26	4th	New York Yankees	none
1958	Kearney Yankees	Nebraska State League	33-30	4th	New York Yankees	none
1960	St. Petersburg Saints	Florida State League	22-31	7th	New York Yankees		replaced Stan Charnofsky (33-52) on July 18

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• Randy Gumpert at the SABR Bio Project
• Obituary from the Reading Eagle
• BR Minors page