Tom Phoebus: Difference between revisions

|image=Tom Phoebus (1968 Dexter Press card)1970.jpg

|image_size=180px

|caption=Tom Phoebus with the Baltimore Orioles in 19681970

|birth_place=[[Baltimore, Maryland]], U.S.

|death_place=[[Palm City, Florida]], U.S.

'''Thomas Harold Stephen Phoebus'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Phoebus|first=Tom|date=18 July 1960|title=U.S., Baseball Questionnaires, 1945-2005|url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61599/images/48096_555686_p-00093|access-date=20 May 2021|website=Ancestry}}</ref> (April 7, 1942 – September 5, 2019) was an American professional [[baseball]] player. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] as a right-handed [[pitcher]] from {{ByBaseball year|1966}} through {{ByBaseball year|1972}}, most notably as a member of the [[Baltimore Orioles]] dynasty that won three [[List of American League pennant winners|American League pennants]] and two [[World Series]] championships between 1966 and 1970. He also played for the [[San Diego Padres]] and the [[Chicago Cubs]].

Phoebus attended high school at [[Mount Saint Joseph College]], a private high school in Baltimore. As a boy, he played baseball in Baltimore through the [[Mary Dobkin]] Athletic Clubs, as well as playing baseball and football in high school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/ |website=ChicagoTribune.com |first1=Charles |last1=Leroux |title=In Aunt Mary's Sandlot, Every Kid's a Champ |date=November 18, 1979 |pages=L1, L4 |accessdate=}}</ref> He also went to Orioles games in the 1950s, sitting in the right field bleachers of Baltimore's old [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]] and dreaming of one day playing for the hometown team, he told a ''[[Baltimore Sun]]'' reporter in an interview almost a half-century later after signing with the Orioles in 1960 for a $10,000&nbsp;bonus.<ref name=Sun_obit>{{cite news|title=Orioles pitcher Tom Phoebus, the ‘Fireplug’'Fireplug' who won Game 2 of the 1970 World Series, dies at 77|work=[[Baltimore Sun]]|date=September 8, 2019|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-tom-phoebus-orioles-pitcher-dies-at-77-20190907-gm3sdopos5azholkj4hohmgfiu-story.html|page=Sports 10|access-date=September 8, 2019}}</ref>

In minor league baseball, Phoebus led the [[Florida State League]] with 12&nbsp;losses while playing for the [[Leesburg Orioles]] in 1961. In 1962, he was tops in the [[Northern League (baseball, 1902–71)|Northern League]], with 195&nbsp;strikeouts and 152&nbsp;bases on balls while playing for the [[Aberdeen Pheasants]]. The next season, Phoebus led the [[Eastern League (U.S. baseball1938–2020)|Eastern League]] with 124&nbsp;bases on balls while playing for the [[Elmira Pioneers]]. The minor leaguer's [[Pitch count|pitch count]] performance continued to be impressive in 1964, again leading the [[International League]] with 120&nbsp;bases on balls while playing for the [[Rochester Red Wings]]. In 1966, Phoebus' walks were down and his Ks were still high, but he still managed to get the league lead in the International League with 208&nbsp;strikeouts and 95&nbsp;bases on balls while playing for the Rochester Red Wings.

On April 27, 1968, Phoebus [[No-hitter|no-hit]] the [[Boston Red Sox|Red Sox]] 6–0 at [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]].<ref name=Sun_obit /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Keenan |first1=Jimmy |title=April 27, 1968: Tom Phoebus throws Orioles' 3rd no-hitter |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-27-1968-tom-phoebus-throws-orioles-3rd-no-hitter |website=sabr.org |accessdateaccess-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19680428&id=KwEzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cukDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7178,4182313&hl=en |title=Tom Phoebus Hurls No-Hitter At Red Sox: Robinson Saves Hit |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=[[Associated Press]] (AP) |date=April 28, 1968 |page=1 (Sports) |accessdateaccess-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref> Converted [[outfielder]] [[Curt Blefary]] was the [[catcher]]. Meanwhile, [[Third baseman|third baseman]] [[Brooks Robinson]] helped at bat and made a great catch to rob a [[Hit (baseball)|hit]] from [[Rico Petrocelli]] in the eighth inning. Frank Robinson would contribute with three RBIs in the win.<ref>100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.213</ref>

Phoebus won a career-high 15&nbsp;games in that season, and 14 in 1969, including the [[American League]] Eastern Division clincher over [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland]]. He also won Game&nbsp;Two of the [[1970 World Series]] as a [[Relief pitcher|relief pitcher]] in the third and fourth&nbsp;innings.<ref name=Sun_obit /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19701012&id=XDIaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VSgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4758,1643851&hl=en |first1=Larry |last1=Whiteside |title=History Says Reds Cannon Win Series |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal |location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |date=October 12, 1970 |page=10 |accessdateaccess-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref> Orioles teammate [[Boog Powell]] recalled that Phoebus had such an impressively arced curveball that even though his pitching motion tipped batters that a curve ball was coming, "It didn't matter because they couldn't hit it anyway."<ref name=Sun_obit />

Following baseball, Phoebus earned an education degree and taught grade school physical education in [[Bradenton, Florida and Port St. Lucie, Florida]].<ref name=Sun_2009>{{cite news|author=Klingaman, Mike|title=Catching Up With former Oriole Tom Phoebus|work=[[Baltimore Sun]]|date=April 28, 2009|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2009-04-catching_up_with_tom_phoebus-story.html|access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref><ref name=sabr>{{sabrbio1cite web |c65a7914url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tom-phoebus/ |title=Tom Phoebus |first1=John |last1=Stahl |website=sabr.org |publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |access-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref> He was divorced and the father of two children. Phoebus died on September 5, 2019, at the age of 77.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2019/09/06/means-allows-key-home-run-orioles-squander-scoring-chances-phoebus-dies/ |title=Means allows key home run; Orioles squander scoring chances; Phoebus dies |first=Rich |last=Dubroff |date=September 6, 2019 |website=BaltimoreBaseball.com|accessdateaccess-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref>

*[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c65a7914tom-phoebus/ Tom Phoebus] at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

[[Category:Baseball players from MarylandBaltimore]]