Spencer Pumpelly

Spencer Armstrong Pumpelly

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• School Yale University
• High School Hotchkiss School
• Debut July 11, 1925
• Final Game July 11, 1925
• Born April 11, 1893 in Owego, NY USA
• Died December 5, 1973 in Sayre, PA USA

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Biographical Information

Spencer Pumpelly pitched one game in the major leagues on July 11, 1925, with the Washington Senators. He pitched one inning, getting the three outs, but giving up a walk and a home run. It would have been a very tough pitching staff to break into, as the Sens won the pennant that year, with Walter Johnson going 20-7, Stan Coveleski going 20-5, Dutch Ruether going 18-7, and Firpo Marberry going 9-5 with 15 saves.

Pumpelly was 32 at the time. He had been at Yale University from 1913-1917. Coming from a wealthy family, Spencer attended the Hotchkiss School first, and followed his brother Harold to Yale. Harold was a football star there. Spencer was a successful pitcher in 1915 at Yale, although he suffered from wildness. When he and some other players accepted free room and board to play for a summer team, Yale declared them ineligible for further amateur play. He played some semi-pro ball in 1916.

He was in the navy in World War I. After that, he and his brother worked as cigar manufacturers (the family trade was tobacco dealing). The SABR biography of Pumpelly says that no record of him playing in the minors can be found, and presumes that he must have played some semi-pro ball, although it also mentions there might have been some "influential contacts" with Senators owner Clark Griffith. A newspaper article of the time claims he had considerable experience and success in semi-pro teams around New York and New Haven.

He pitched well in an exhibition game between the Senators and the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to his one major league appearance.

Pumpelly was an unusual person, preferring to buck traditions at Yale. Later, in the 1930s, he found an old log cabin while hunting, bought it, took it apart piece by piece, and put it together at the side of a river. It took him four years to do it.

Related Sites

• Spencer Pumpelly at the SABR Bio Project