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FatJack · 08-31-2016, 05:37 AM

Hal Hudson, who hurled a handful of innings for the Browns and White Sox in the 50s, passed away on July 8. He was 89.

Hal "Lefty" Hudson was signed by the Browns as a 17 year old in 1944. He started out as a flame thrower--more a thrower than pitcher--and suffered from wildness as a result. In his first two pro seasons, he struck out a ton, but walked just as many, and he had, well, ahem, let's just say he had impressive hit batter and wild pitch totals.

As he rose through the system, Hal learned to throw less and pitch more. His strikeout numbers dropped, but at least he stopped hitting batters. Nonetheless, he also started posting winning records. After going 16-5 with a 3.09 ERA for Toronto in 1951, the Browns decided maybe Hal was ready.

Hal broke camp with the Browns in 1952. What made that the highlight of his pro career was sharing the bullpen with Satchel Paige. Things were less fun for Hal on the field. He appeared in 3 games and got lit up pretty good. When cutdown day arrived in May, he was sent back to Toronto. Once again, he pitched well for the Maple Leafs, going 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA. He even posted a career best WHIP of 1.277.

The White Sox were looking for some bullpen help and picked up Hal in a waiver deal and he made two September appearances in '52 and one more in September '53. In January of 1954, the AAA Buffalo Bisons purchased Hal's contract from Chicago. He would go 6 - 14 with an ERA near 5. That December, the AA San Antonio Missions bought Hal's contract from Buffalo. Maybe you've noticed that Hal seems to be moving in the wrong direction, here. It gets worse. Though I couldn't find out what the deal was, exactly, Hal was placed on the inactive list in May, with the club saying he would either be sold or traded. If I had to guess, I'd say he had probably refused an assignment to Single-A Wichita. Because, come July, that's where he was. Both clubs were affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles (who had, not so long before, been the St. Louis Browns).

For 1956, Hal signed again with San Antonio (now being managed by future Pilots skipper Joe Schultz), but he didn't make the squad. That left Hal, still just 29, out of pro ball completely. Not ready to throw in the towel just yet, he hitched his star to the Plymouth (TX) Oilers, a semi-pro team. After going 7 - 1 with the Oilers, Hal figured he was ready for a comeback. And where better than the team with whom he'd enjoyed his greatest success--Toronto. So he contacted the Leafs who figured what the heck and they bought Hal's rights from Baltimore for cheap.

If nothing else, Hal got to do something he hadn't done before while he was in camp with Toronto. On April 6, 1957, the Leafs were playing Montreal in an exhibition contest. The Leafs pitcher, Don Johnson, got into a shouting match with the home plate umpire, Frank Guzzetta (the same umpire who ejected Cot Deal from a 1959 game in Havana that was, soon after, called when Leo Cardenas and Frank Verdi were shot). Johnson, you see, was, um, concerned about Guzzetta's eyesight (it was said the language was salty enough to embarrass the crews of two Naval destroyers who were on hand for the game). After the exchange, Guzzetta fell ill and could not finish the game. The base umpire took over behind the plate and Hal Hudson (and George Shuba) umpired the bases the rest of the game.

Hal didn't make the Toronto team, though, and was farmed out to AA Birmingham. After 4 games, he decided he'd had enough and ended his pro comeback.

The epilog is that Hal wasn't ready to quit the game--just the pros. He pitched the rest of the year with an amateur team, the Faribualt Lakers. He was the top pitcher in the league that year, finishing with a 9 - 2 record.

There aren't a ton of Hal Hudson images out there, but there are several. For my tribute card, I really wanted to do Browns. I love the orphan teams and I have fewer Browns cards than Pilots, Colts, Senators or Expos. I wasn't even born yet when the Browns ceased to be. And the best of the Browns Hudson images has to be the one tnfoto has posted here. So picture 1 is my colorization. Picture 2 is a postcard of Hal with Toronto in 1952, just so I'm adding a image that doesn't already reside here.

08-31-2016, 05:37 AM	#29013
FatJack All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 847	Hal Hudson (1927 - 2016) Hal Hudson, who hurled a handful of innings for the Browns and White Sox in the 50s, passed away on July 8. He was 89. Hal "Lefty" Hudson was signed by the Browns as a 17 year old in 1944. He started out as a flame thrower--more a thrower than pitcher--and suffered from wildness as a result. In his first two pro seasons, he struck out a ton, but walked just as many, and he had, well, ahem, let's just say he had impressive hit batter and wild pitch totals. As he rose through the system, Hal learned to throw less and pitch more. His strikeout numbers dropped, but at least he stopped hitting batters. Nonetheless, he also started posting winning records. After going 16-5 with a 3.09 ERA for Toronto in 1951, the Browns decided maybe Hal was ready. Hal broke camp with the Browns in 1952. What made that the highlight of his pro career was sharing the bullpen with Satchel Paige. Things were less fun for Hal on the field. He appeared in 3 games and got lit up pretty good. When cutdown day arrived in May, he was sent back to Toronto. Once again, he pitched well for the Maple Leafs, going 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA. He even posted a career best WHIP of 1.277. The White Sox were looking for some bullpen help and picked up Hal in a waiver deal and he made two September appearances in '52 and one more in September '53. In January of 1954, the AAA Buffalo Bisons purchased Hal's contract from Chicago. He would go 6 - 14 with an ERA near 5. That December, the AA San Antonio Missions bought Hal's contract from Buffalo. Maybe you've noticed that Hal seems to be moving in the wrong direction, here. It gets worse. Though I couldn't find out what the deal was, exactly, Hal was placed on the inactive list in May, with the club saying he would either be sold or traded. If I had to guess, I'd say he had probably refused an assignment to Single-A Wichita. Because, come July, that's where he was. Both clubs were affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles (who had, not so long before, been the St. Louis Browns). For 1956, Hal signed again with San Antonio (now being managed by future Pilots skipper Joe Schultz), but he didn't make the squad. That left Hal, still just 29, out of pro ball completely. Not ready to throw in the towel just yet, he hitched his star to the Plymouth (TX) Oilers, a semi-pro team. After going 7 - 1 with the Oilers, Hal figured he was ready for a comeback. And where better than the team with whom he'd enjoyed his greatest success--Toronto. So he contacted the Leafs who figured what the heck and they bought Hal's rights from Baltimore for cheap. If nothing else, Hal got to do something he hadn't done before while he was in camp with Toronto. On April 6, 1957, the Leafs were playing Montreal in an exhibition contest. The Leafs pitcher, Don Johnson, got into a shouting match with the home plate umpire, Frank Guzzetta (the same umpire who ejected Cot Deal from a 1959 game in Havana that was, soon after, called when Leo Cardenas and Frank Verdi were shot). Johnson, you see, was, um, concerned about Guzzetta's eyesight (it was said the language was salty enough to embarrass the crews of two Naval destroyers who were on hand for the game). After the exchange, Guzzetta fell ill and could not finish the game. The base umpire took over behind the plate and Hal Hudson (and George Shuba) umpired the bases the rest of the game. Hal didn't make the Toronto team, though, and was farmed out to AA Birmingham. After 4 games, he decided he'd had enough and ended his pro comeback. The epilog is that Hal wasn't ready to quit the game--just the pros. He pitched the rest of the year with an amateur team, the Faribualt Lakers. He was the top pitcher in the league that year, finishing with a 9 - 2 record. There aren't a ton of Hal Hudson images out there, but there are several. For my tribute card, I really wanted to do Browns. I love the orphan teams and I have fewer Browns cards than Pilots, Colts, Senators or Expos. I wasn't even born yet when the Browns ceased to be. And the best of the Browns Hudson images has to be the one tnfoto has posted here. So picture 1 is my colorization. Picture 2 is a postcard of Hal with Toronto in 1952, just so I'm adding a image that doesn't already reside here. Attached Images Last edited by FatJack; 08-31-2016 at 05:39 AM.