Ted Odenwald

Theodore Joseph Odenwald
(Lefty)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 147 lb.

• Debut April 13, 1921
• Final Game April 21, 1922
• Born January 4, 1902 in Hudson, WI USA
• Died October 23, 1965 in Shakopee, MN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ted Odenwald pitched 11 games in the majors. With the 1921 Cleveland Indians at age 19 he was effective, appearing in 10 games with an ERA of 1.56. The next season he appeared in only one game, pitching 1.1 innings and giving up 6 runs.

Odenwald had pitched for Des Moines in 1920 at age 18.

From 1924-26 and part of 1927 he pitched for Albany.

Lloyd Larson's column in the Milwaukee Sentinel of July 22, 1953 is about Ted Odenwald. He was a star in high school who threw a "riser" and could strike out as many as 22 in a game. Manager Tris Speaker wanted to sign him even before Odenwald graduated from high school.

The article goes on to say about Ted's time in the majors that at one point Speaker got upset because Odenwald was supposed to walk Babe Ruth but struck him out instead, and Speaker removed Ted from the game. After the majors he went to Columbus, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Albany. Then he pitched for a factory team in Fergus Falls, MN which won the state championship three times in a row. He became a V.P. of the company that owned the factory.