Roy Parmelee

Le Roy Earl Parmelee
(Bud or Tarzan)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School Eastern Michigan University
• Debut September 28, 1929
• Final Game June 10, 1939
• Born April 25, 1907 in Lambertville, MI USA
• Died August 31, 1981 in Monroe, MI USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Roy Parmelee would spend six years in the minors with several different teams in several different leagues from 1927 through 1932. He finally came up with a quality year in 1932, going 16-4 with the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association. Roy oficially became a major leaguer when the New York Giants brought him up for a look in 1929 and had a rough ride, but did go 1-0 in two games. He would get short term looks, also with the Giants, in 1930 through 1932 and wind up at 3-6 during that run.

Roy's good showing in 1932 caused the Giants to sign him on in 1933 and he went 13-8 with a 3.17 ERA while pitching 218 innings. The Giants would win the pennant over the Pittsburgh Pirates by five games this season and go on to win the 1933 World Series, four games to one over the Washington Senators. The Giants pitching was so good in the series, manager Bill Terry of the World Champion Giants never gave Parmelee a call.

Parmelee would pitch well for the 1934 Giants, going 10-6 with a 3.42 ERA and would come right back the following season at 14-10 and a 4.22 ERA while pitching 226 innings. On December 9, 1935, Roy was traded along with Phil Weintraub and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for Burgess Whitehead. Roy went 11-11 for the Cardinals with a 4.56 ERA while pitching 221 innings in 1936 and on October 8, 1936 the Cardinals traded him along with Ripper Collins to the Cubs for Lon Warneke.

Parmelee would go 7-8 for the 1937 Cubs and in early 1938 he would be purchased by the Boston Red Sox. He would spend the rest of the season with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association winning 17 and losing 13 with a 4.20 ERA in 240 innings. After this turn-a-round the Philadelphia Athletics would draft Roy from the Red Sox in the 1938 Rule V Draft. Roy would go 1-6 for the Athletics and on June 14, 1939 the Athletics would sell him back to the Red Sox and this would be his finale in the big leagues.

Roy would spend four more seasons in the high minors but couldn't seem to get things together and would finish up with the Toledo Mud Hens in 1942 at the age of 35 with an eleven-season minor league record of 94-94 with a 3.46 ERA while pitching 1,667 innings. This matched up pretty well with his ten-year run in the majors, where he went 59-55 with a 4.27 ERA while pitching 1,120 Innings.

After baseball, Parmelee went back to his native state where he lived and worked until his death on August 31, 1981 in Monroe, MI, at the age of 74.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1933, 1935 & 1936)
• Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1933 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites

• Roy Parmelee at the SABR Bio Project