Red Lynn

Japhet Monroe Lynn

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 162 lb.
• Debut April 25, 1939
• Final Game October 1, 1944
• Born December 27, 1913 in Kenney, TX USA
• Died October 27, 1977 in Bellville, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"I was a real yokel when it came to pitching. In my first game, when the catcher held down one finger, I thought he wanted me to hold the ball with one finger. I didn’t know I was supposed to pitch a fast ball, which happened to be my only pitch. So I held the ball with one finger and it sailed over the catcher’s head. When he held down two fingers I put two fingers on the ball. I was really dumb." - Red Lynn, talking about his first experience in the minors

Red Lynn, whose name sounds much like Fred Lynn, was actually born "Japhet Monroe Lynn". His major league career was in 1939-40 and 1944, and he was a great minor league pitcher, notching 244 victories in the minors.

He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1934, and had three good seasons in their minor league organization. In 1937 in the East Texas League, he went 32-13 with a 2.65 ERA. In 1938, he pitched for Columbus in Triple A. He was with Jersey City in 1941.

In the majors, he started in 1939 with the Detroit Tigers but after only 4 games was purchased by the New York Giants, where he pitched 26 games in relief and had an ERA of 3.08. In 1940, he went 4-3 in 33 games for the New York Giants, finishing 18 games and getting 3 saves. In 1944, at the age of 30, he went 5-4 with the Chicago Cubs in 22 games. All told, he was 10-8 in the majors in 85 games with an ERA of 3.95.

He pitched in 1942 for the Los Angeles Angels, and then in 1943, he was a star in the PCL for the Angels, winning 21 games to lead the league in victories. His record was 21-8 with an ERA of 2.47. He won his first nine games of the season.

In 1945, he was in the service. He pitched for the Los Angeles Angels in 1946-48, winning between 16-19 games each year. He was in Portland in 1949 and apparently in 1950-51 as well, and then came to Hollywood in 1952. He apparently continued to play after that, finishing up in 1956 with Bakersfield and Salt Lake at age 42, with a record of 15-11.

His minor league win/loss record was 244-191.

• He sometimes threw batting practice left-handed, although he never pitched left-handed in an actual game.

• In off-seasons, he would take jobs such as rodeo cowboy, wrestler, and professional boxer.

Further reading

1943 Los Angeles Angels