Robert Brandon Davis (September 10, 1927 – June 12, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, manager, coach and longtime scout who spent 52 years in the game. In his playing days, the outfielder appeared in 67 games in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1952 and 1953 seasons. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg), and was a native and lifelong resident of Newark, Delaware.
Walker James Cress (March 6, 1917 – April 21, 1996) was an American professional baseball player and scout. The right-handed pitcher appeared in 33 Major League Baseball games, 31 in relief, in 1948 and part of 1949 for the Cincinnati Reds. Born in Ben Hur, Virginia, and nicknamed "Foots", he was listed as 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and 205 pounds (93 kg).
Cress played baseball for Louisiana State University from 1938 to 1939. His professional playing career began in 1939 in the Boston Red Sox' farm system. He missed the 1943–1945 seasons in World War II military service, but the website Baseball in Wartime lists no service branch under his name. In 1946, Cress returned to baseball and won 19 of 22 decisions for the Lynn Red Sox of the Class B New England League. The next year, 1947, he won 15 of 20 decisions for the New Orleans Pelicans of the Double-A Southern Association.
Cress then was acquired by Cincinnati, setting the stage for his major-league career. He worked in 30 games for the 1948 Reds, with two assignments as a starting pitcher. He posted his only MLB complete game on October 1, 1948, during the season's final weekend. Facing the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field, he had held the Bucs to two hits and no runs over eight innings, and was nursing a 1–0 lead going into the ninth. But in the final frame, he surrendered four hits and two runs, and when the Reds could not respond in their half of the ninth, Cress was tagged with the loss, his only MLB decision.Cress then worked in three early-season games in 1949 and pitched two scoreless innings coming of the Reds' bullpen before returning to the minors for the rest of his career. As a big leaguer, he allowed 62 hits and 45 bases on balls in 62 total innings pitched, with 33 strikeouts and no saves. He won a combined 33 games for the Tulsa Oilers of the Double-A Texas League in 1949–50, and ended his minor-league career with 99 victories.
After his pitching career, Cress resided in Baton Rouge, LA, working as an electrician, and became a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and San Francisco Giants. He later became the Director of Recreation for BREC, a recreational organization in East Baton Rouge Parish. Cress died at the age of 79 on April 21, 1996, in Baton Rouge.
Stephen Richard Sundra (March 27, 1910 – March 23, 1952) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played during eight seasons for the New York Yankees (1936; 1938–1940), Washington Senators (1941–1942) and St. Louis Browns (1942–1944; 1946). He batted and threw right-handed.
Clarence Campbell, better known as Soup Campbell (after Campbell's Soup) (March 7, 1915 – February 16, 2000) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1940 through 1941 for the Cleveland Indians. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 188 lb., Campbell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Sparta, Virginia. In a two-season career, Campbell was a .246 hitter (96-for-432) with three home runs and 37 runs batted in in 139 games, including 10 doubles, four triples, one stolen base, and a .315 on-base percentage.
Campbell began his professional career with the Tarboro Serpents of the Coastal Plain League, playing for them in 1937 and 1938. He then spent the 1939 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, batting .321 in 155 games. He was promoted to the Indians major league roster in 1940 and made his debut on April 21. In 25 games, he had a .226 batting average, serving as a backup outfielder. In 1941, Campbell saw more playing time, and had a .250 batting average in 104 games.He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, missing the 1942-1945 seasons. He returned to baseball action with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1946 after failing to make the Indians roster out of spring training; he had requested the demotion in order to be an everyday player. He compiled a .298 average and 23 homers in 579 minor league games in a span of five years (1937–39, 1946–47). He later managed for the 1952 Lexington team of the North Carolina State League. Campbell died in Sparta at the age of 84.
John William Humphries (June 23, 1915 – June 24, 1965) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1946. Born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, he played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Humphries played college baseball at North Carolina. When Humphries made his Major League debut with the Indians in 1938, he was thought to have the best fastball in the American League. He made 45 pitching appearances as a rookie in 1938 to lead the American League, beating out Bobo Newsom of the St. Louis Browns by one. Between July 13 and July 26, 1942, Humphries pitched ten or more innings in four consecutive starts. As of 2020, no other pitcher had ever pitched more than nine innings in more than three consecutive appearances.He died in 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
John McKittrick Redmond (September 3, 1910 – July 27, 1968) was a professional baseball player. He was a catcher for one season (1935) with the Washington Senators. For his career, he compiled a .176 batting average in 34 at-bats, with one home run and seven runs batted in.
An alumnus of the University of Arizona, he was born in Florence, Arizona and died in Garland, Texas at the age of 57.
James Elden Waugh (November 25, 1933 – February 16, 2010) was an American professional baseball pitcher. The right-hander appeared in 46 career games pitched in Major League Baseball as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates during parts of the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Born in Lancaster, Ohio, he was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Waugh graduated from Lancaster High School and attended Ohio University and Ohio State University. Signed by the Pirates in 1951, he made his MLB debut in April 1952 at the age of 18 after only one minor-league season. On August 9, he won his first big-league game with a complete game, 4–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Wins were hard to come by for both Waugh and his team; he lost the other six decisions of his rookie campaign, and the 1952 Pirates dropped 112 of their 154 games. In 1953, Waugh worked in 29 games with 11 starts and posted his second career complete-game, a 5–2 triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium on August 20. His sophomore season saw him improve his won–lost record to 4–5, but his earned run average was a poor 6.48. The 1953 Pirates won only 50 games themselves.
Waugh's last MLB game came on September 26, 1953; he started against the New York Giants and was tagged with a 5–3 loss. In his 46 major-league games, including 18 starts, he won five games and lost 11, with an ERA of 6.43. In 1422⁄3 innings pitched, he allowed 169 hits and 88 bases on balls, recording 41 strikeouts.
Waugh's last pro season was 1956. He died in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in February 2010.
Calvin Grey Hogue (October 24, 1927 – August 5, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 25 Major League Baseball games between 1952 and 1954 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The native of Dayton, Ohio, stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Hogue spent his rookie season, and 19 games of his MLB career, on one of the worst teams in history: the 1952 Pirates, who won only 42 of 154 games and finished 541⁄2 games out of first place in the National League. Recalled by Pittsburgh after compiling a 10–3 record with the Class A Charleston Rebels of the Sally League, Hogue threw a complete game, four-hit 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in his second appearance in the Major Leagues on July 17. But he was hit hard in his next start, also against the Phillies, allowing ten earned runs in three innings pitched and taking the loss in 14–4 Phillie win. He started ten more games for the Pirates, but failed to win another game, finishing 1–8 (4.84), although he did throw two more complete games.Hogue spent most of 1953 in the Double-A Texas League, and pitched in three games for the Pirates. He gained his second Major League win on September 27, throwing another complete game and beating the New York Giants, 6–4. Then Hogue made the 1954 Pirates coming out of spring training. He started two April games, but failed to last past four complete innings in each one. He retired from professional baseball after three games with the 1957 Columbus Jets of the Triple-A International League.
During his Major League career, Hogue issued 96 bases on balls in 1132⁄3 innings and allowed 109 hits, with 54 strikeouts.
Richard Frederick Hahn (July 24, 1916 – November 5, 1992) was a Major League Baseball catcher. Hahn played for the Washington Senators in 1940. In one career game, he had three career at-bats and did not get a hit.
Hahn was born in Canton, Ohio and died in Orlando, Florida. He was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, Florida.
Oscar Ray Grimes Jr. (April 13, 1915 – May 19, 1993) was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1938–1942), New York Yankees (1943–1946) and Philadelphia Athletics (1946). Grimes batted and threw right-handed.
He was born in Minerva, Ohio.
In a nine-season career, Grimes posted a .256 batting average with 18 home runs and 200 RBI in 602 games played.
Grimes died in Westlake, Ohio, at the age of 78. He played semi-pro football for the Minerva Merchants.