Chuck Stobbs

[William Malone]

Charles Klein Stobbs was born on July 2, 1929 in Wheeling, West Virginia.

He was highly sought after as a teenager, and signed with the Boston Red Sox at age 17 in 1947. He made his Major League debut shortly after his 18th birthday that same year. Stobbs was a full time starter at the big league level by 1949. He went 33-23 with a 4.70 ERA during his five seasons in Boston.

They traded him to the Chicago White Sox after the 1951 season. He spent one year there, going 7-12 with a 3.13 ERA. Stobbs was then traded to the Washington Senators, going 49-68 with a 4.26 ERA between 1953 and 1957. He led the American League with 20 losses in 1957. The St. Louis Cardinals acquired Stobbs in 1958, but traded him back to Washington in 1959.

Stobbs transitioned to a relief role during his second stint with the Senators, occasionally making spot starts when needed. He posted a career best 2.98 ERA over 90.2 innings in 1959, recording seven saves. The Senators re-located to Minnesota in 1961, becoming the Twins. After a 2-0 start in their inaugural season, Stobbs was the first losing pitcher in Twins history when they dropped their third contest on April 15, 1961 against the Baltimore Orioles. This was the start of his final Major League season, where he owned a 7.46 ERA with two saves.

He moved back to the DC area after retiring, working as an insurance salesman. Stobbs briefly worked as a broadcaster for the new incarnation of the Washington Senators, calling their games in 1969. He was the head coach at George Washington University in 1970, then moved to Florida to work as a rookie ball pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals organization. The Cleveland Indians hired him for a similar role in 1979, and he retired after the 1981 season. Stobbs passed away in 2008 after a battle with throat cancer.

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