Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 41

By
Emory "Bubba" Church was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1950-1952. Like Curt Simmons, Church was a strong-armed Phils farmhand who quickly moved through the minor league system. Following 15 wins at Toronto in 1949, he earned a shot in the big leagues and debuted with the Phillies in 1950. Church had some solid success with the team.

As a rookie, Church was initially used out of the bullpen. By the middle of the 1950 season, Church was inserted into the starting rotation and helped the Phillies win the National League crown with some convincing wins. He won five of his first six starts, including a couple of shutouts.

In mid-September that season, Church took a line drive to his face off the bat of Cincinnati's Ted Kluszewski. Church would be carried off the field on a stretcher. He made one final start that season, but was not used in the World Series.

In 1951, Church started the season slowly. He won just 3 of his first 8 starts. However, starting in late May, he reeled off 5 straight wins including back to back shutouts of the Pirates and Braves. By the end of the season, Church had logged 15 wins, 15 complete games and 4 shutouts. Church also threw a one-hitter against Pittsburgh in August that season.

The next season, Church showed up to spring training out of shape and this bothered Phils manager Eddie Sawyer. As a result, Church pitched in only two games before the Phillies traded him to the Reds for pitcher Kent Peterson and utility man Johnny Wyrostek in May.

Bubba Church's final 3-plus seasons in the Majors did not produce another winning season. He posted a 13-20 combined record with the Reds and Cubs in those years. Church retired in 1955, rather than accept a minor league assignment.

----------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

BallHype: hype it up!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...
3 comments
Read more

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

By
TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

By
The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...
2 comments
Read more