Rex Cecil

Rex Ralston Cecil

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School
• Debut August 13, 1944
• Final Game May 28, 1945
• Born October 8, 1916 in Lindsay, OK USA
• Died October 23, 1966 in Long Beach, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

“This major-league ball is different. You gotta be good up here and damned if I ain’t positive I can be good – I mean a good pitcher. So now I gotta show ’em. You wait and see. If I keep in shape – I mean if I don’t get hurt – there is no reason I shouldn’t win 20. I should be good for five years at least, because even if they don’t have me as a starting pitcher, I can be a hell of a relief pitcher, and then I’ll go back to the minors and manage a team.” - Rex Cecil, to The Sporting News, April 19, 1945

In spite of his confidence, Rex Cecil was never a 20-game winner in The Show... or even a 10-game winner. But he did reach the big leagues for parts of two seasons during World War II with the Boston Red Sox, which is more than most folks can say.

The Red Sox originally purchased Rex's contract from the Vancouver Maple Leafs when Tex Hughson was inducted in the military; Cecil had never seen a major league game or played east of his native Oklahoma at that point. He was in Phoenix when he got the call, immediately flew across country and arrived in Boston in time for a doubleheader at Fenway Park on August 13, 1944. Running on little sleep, he was called into the first game against the St. Louis Browns when it went into extra innings. He got out of a jam in the 10th and went on to pitch 4 scoreless innings, ending up a winner when Bobby Doerr hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 13th. He was an okay 4-5, 5.16 that season, then tabbed as Opening Day starter in 1945. Facing the New York Yankees, he allowed 8 runs (only 2 earned) in an 8-4 loss at Yankee Stadium. He made only 6 more starts, finishing his big league career with a 6-10 record and 5.10 ERA.

Cecil spent fourteen active seasons in professional baseball from 1937 to 1953. In the minors, he built a 161-147 record with a 3.59 ERA while appearing in 419 games. He also managed the Bakersfield Badgers for part of the 1942 season. He served only briefly in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting in February 1943 and earning an honorable discharge that June, returning to the minor leagues and continuing his climb to the bigs.

Rex was later a roofer for a construction company. He died from cirrhosis of the liver in a Veterans Administration hospital. His brother, Lou Cecil, played in the minor leagues.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Playoffs	Notes
1942	Bakersfield Badgers	California League	4-12	--	--	replaced Jack Colbern (9-16) on May 22 replaced by Lee Dempsey (9-17) on June 6

Related Sites

• Rex Cecil at the SABR Bio Project