Warren Hacker

Warren Louis Hacker

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut September 24, 1948
• Final Game September 29, 1961
• Born November 21, 1924 in Marissa, IL USA
• Died May 22, 2002 in Lenzburg, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The Class C 1946 West Texas-New Mexico League Pampa Oilers was the first stop for the 21-year-old Warren Hacker in his professional baseball career. Hacker was a right-handed pitcher who was fresh out of the United States Marines where he had spent three years serving his country in the South Pacific during World War II.

The young pitcher came through with a 20 win 4 loss initial season, with a 3.68 ERA. On August 1 st that year he and Olinda Schenke were married in a home-plate ceremony at the Pampas Oilers' ballpark. He spent 1947 with the Texarkana Bears and the Shreveport Sports, combining for an 11-5 record and with the 1948 Sports he went 17-14 with a 3.18 ERA.

In September of 1948 he was obtained by the Chicago Cubs from the Shreveport team. The Cubs wasted no time in getting him on the mound and he appeared in 3 games, going 0-1 in his first major league competition. Warren spent 1949 through 1951 with the Cubs and three different minor league teams before getting a solid spot on the Chicago roster. On September 7, 1951, pitching for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, he threw a no-hitteragainst the Seattle Rainiers, winning 4-0. In 1952 he won 15 while losing 9, with a 2.58 ERA. He lead the National League in WHIP (0.946) and fewest hits per 9 innings (7.005) that season. The 1953 season saw him lead the NL in losses with 19, home runs allowed with 35, and earned runs allowed with 108, and finishing with a 12-19 record and a 4.38 ERA.

The good natured Hacker was a knuckleball and sinkerball pitcher, who came within 2 outs of a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Braves on May 21, 1955, when he gave up a one-out 9th inning home run to George Crowe; he held on to win, 2-1. Warren went 3-13 in 1956 and on November 13th that year he was traded by the Cubs along with Don Hoak and Pete Whisenant, to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Elmer Singleton and Ray Jablonski. He was then claimed on waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1957, where he spent parts of the next two seasons.

After spending 1958 through 1960 in the minors, he finished up his major league career as a reliever with the Chicago White Sox in 1961, where he went 3-3 with a 3.77 ERA and 8 saves. He then pitched for the White Sox's top farm club, the Indianapolis Indians, through the 1966 season.

The record shows that Warren also had stints managing the 1969 California League Lodi Crushers, the 1971 Northwest League Coos Bay-North Bend A's and the 1973 Pacific Coast League Hawaii Islanders. During this time Hacker was scouting and a roving minor league pitching instructor for the Oakland A's.

When the final inning was over, Warren Hacker, from 1946 through 1973 had spent 24 active years in professional baseball.

Warren is the uncle of former infielder and St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays coach Rich Hacker.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1952)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1953 & 1955)

Sources

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
SABR Minor League Database
Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Library.com