Turk Lown

Omar Joseph Lown

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Franklin K. Lane High School
• Debut April 24, 1951
• Final Game September 22, 1962
• Born May 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died July 8, 2016 in Pueblo, CO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Turk Lown, who led the American League in saves in 1959 with the Chicago White Sox, spent almost his entire major league career with the Chicago teams, the Chicago Cubs and the White Sox. He got better as he got older, posting his best years after the age of 35. He was well known for his extremely high leg-kick prior to releasing the ball.

He was signed originally by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1942, and went 18-8 his first year in the minors. He then missed the 1943-1945 seasons due to military service, but returned to go 13-7 with the Pueblo Dodgers in 1947 and 17-6 with the same team in 1948. Lown didn't come to the majors until 1951 at age 27, by which time he was pitching for the Cubs.

Lown was a starter from 1951 to 1953. His one career shutout was in his rookie year of 1951. He had only 49 career starts in 504 career games with 73 saves.

In the minors he played for Pueblo, and after his baseball career lived there. He also played for the Newport News Dodgers. He was with the minor-league Los Angeles Angels in 1954 and 1955 when he began to do relief work.

His name came from the fact that he earned little money playing in the minors, so he ate one big meal each day, choosing the biggest meal on the menu, which was usually turkey. He occasionally threw a "butterfly pitch".

After baseball, he was a postal carrier for 22 years.

One source: Chicago Sun Times 2002 article

Notable Achievements

• NL Games Pitched Leader (1957)
• AL Saves Leader (1959)

Related Sites

• Turk Lown at the SABR Bio Project