Tommy Fine

Thomas Morgan Fine

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Baylor University
• High School Cleburne High School
• Debut April 26, 1947
• Final Game June 28, 1950
• Born October 10, 1914 in Cleburne, TX USA
• Died January 10, 2005 in Little Elm, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tommy Fine pitched for twenty years in the minor leagues, major leagues and winter ball.

With the Scranton Red Sox in 1946, Fine went 23-3 with a 2.08 ERA and led the Eastern League in wins. He earned a cup of coffee with the Boston Red Sox in 1947, appearing in nine big league games as a 32-year-old rookie. No North American player has made hs debut at an older age since then, although a few players who have come over from Japan have done so. After the season, he was traded to the San Francisco Seals, and he later returned to the majors briefly, making 14 appearances out of the bullpen for the St. Louis Browns in 1950. Hos numbers with the Browns can only be described as awful, though: in 36 2/3 innings, he allowed 53 hits and 25 walks and struck out a mere 6 opponents; unsurprisingly, his ERA was a whopping 8.10.

Fine spent five seasons playing in the Cuban Winter League. He was the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the Serie del Caribe. While with Club Havana, Fine was a late addition to the Cuban team, replacing future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm. On February 21, 1952, in the fourth Serie del Caribe in Panama City, Fine pitched a 1 - 0, no-hit game over Cervecería Caracas (he walked 3 and another batter reached on an error by Manuel Hidalgo). The feat remained unmatched until Ángel Padrón also pitched a non-no, for the [[Tiburones de La Guaira], in the 2024 Caribbean Series, 72 years later! Five days later, Fine faced the host country's Carta Vieja and came three outs from consecutive no-hitters in the series, having allowed a single in the 9th inning to break it up. His seventeen-inning hitless streak also is the longest in the series history. He was named MVP of the 1952 Caribbean Series.

After retiring, Fine was a respected businessman and served as a deacon in the Baptist church.

Related Sites

• Tommy Fine at the SABR Bio Project