|
Benny Frey
The school system in Jackson, Michigan, discontinued the baseball program about the time Benny Frey reached high school. Undaunted, Benny learned to pitch on the sandlots and from his brothers. He played summer ball for a variety of teams in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio before being signed by the Toledo Mud Hens of the Double-A American Association in 1923 at the age of 17.
Second only to baseball was his love of fishing. At having been sold to another minor league team, Frey had initially refused to report, saying he would hunt and fish in Michigan instead. The local paper poked fun at that, commenting that to fish in Michigan in February required an axe. Frey got the message and was in training camp the next week. Eventually, he found his way to the Reds where he played the vast majority of his eight-year career going 57-82 with a 4.50 ERA (90 ERA+).
Avid fisherman that he was, he spent his off-days in Spring Training fishing. In 1937 he came back with a 12-pound, 27½-inch bass. He was being driven by Al Hollingsworth to find a taxidermist to mount the prize when they were struck. Frey did not claim any serious injuries, but the accident may have added to his physical woe. Hollingsworth injured his right (nonthrowing) arm. On April 16, Dressen announced that Frey was being optioned to Nashville. Frey contemplated the demotion and decided that he would head back to Michigan. About a week later he announced that he was retiring and asked to be placed on the voluntarily retired list. He told reporters that he intended to join one of his brothers in the plumbing trade. He also harbored the fear that his arm was gone and that he would never play again.
On November 1, Frey rigged his car to pipe exhaust into the interior. He was in the garage at his sister’s farm near Jackson, Michigan, where he died from self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning. Relatives confirmed that “his arm was never going to be good enough again … and that he spent several months despondent since his release.” Thirty-one-year-old Frey was survived by his mother and 10 siblings [and left behind a life of unrealized possibilities - Ed.]. - SABR
Redid the facegen. He's pitching great relief for my Random Debut team...
|