Tom Sturdivant

Thomas Virgil Sturdivant (April 28, 1930 – February 28, 2009), nicknamed "Snake", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He threw a curveball and a knuckleball, among other pitches. He batted left-handed but threw right-handed.

Sturdivant was originally signed by the Yankees as an infielder in 1948. After a two-year stint in the United States Army, he became a pitcher in order to improve his chances of making the major leagues. He debuted with the Yankees in 1955, the first of four straight years he was on a World Series roster. In 1956, he had a 16–8 record, led the American League (AL) with a 2.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and won Game 4 of the 1956 World Series, which the Yankees won in seven games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. He went 16–6 in 1957, tying for the AL lead in winning percentage with a .727 mark. Arm trouble and a spike wound to the heel limited him in 1958, though he won his second World Series as the Yankees defeated the Milwaukee Braves in seven games.

The next several years saw Sturdivant pitch for a number of teams. He was traded to the Athletics in May 1959. In 1960, he made the Opening Day start for the Red Sox, but he only started two more games for them. The Senators picked him in the 1960 expansion draft, then traded him to the Pirates in mid-1961. Pittsburgh initially assigned him to the minor leagues, but he won five games in a six start stretch shortly after being recalled. He split 1962 between the starting rotation and the bullpen, winning four straight games in late August/early September. In 1963, he pitched for Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Kansas City, winning just twice as he spent most of the year in the bullpen. He pitched in three games for Kansas City in 1964, then pitched in 16 games for the Mets that same year before getting released on June 27. Following his baseball career, he was involved in trucking businesses around Oklahoma City.

Born in Gordon, Kansas, on April 28, 1930, Tom was the son of Elbert E. Pete Sturdivant and his wife, Ethel (née Moudy). He was the second of two boys; brother Bobby Joe was born in 1926. The family had moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by 1940. Elbert worked for an oil pipeline company as a telegraph operator while Ethel worked at a fur repair shop as an assistant.

Sturdivant attended Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, which he graduated from in May 1948. He played as a pitcher for Bill Mosier's Tires, an American Legion team, but he also played infield positions. While he was in high school, John Hall, a neighbor of his, taught him how to throw a knuckleball. On May 24, 1948, he was signed as an infielder by New York Yankees scout Tom Greenwade, the man who became famous the next year for signing Sturdivant's fellow Oklahoman Mickey Mantle. "What a boy if we can find a position for him," Greenwade said in 1949. "Great speed and a rifle arm. Used to be a high-school pitcher in Oklahoma City, you know. And one of the greatest. He set some kind of record. More than 100 innings without being scored on. When he wasn’t pitching he was playing short. He likes to play the infield. He might, with that arm and speed, make a real outfielder."

Sturdivant began his professional career playing third base for the Quincy Gems of the Three-I League, which was at the Class B level. He batted .338 in 21 games. Later in the season, he batted .241 in 36 games for the Norfolk Tars, another Yankees' Class B affiliate in the Piedmont League which needed help at third base. He spent the next two seasons at Quincy, hitting.255 in 109 games in 1949. He only played 68 games in 1950, batting .246, but he also pitched in two contests. During his time at Quincy, he suffered a leg injury that reduced his speed.

Sturdivant joined several other Yankee prospects at a pre-spring training camp held by Yankee manager Casey Stengel, but he played no professional baseball that season. With the Korean War going on, Sturdivant joined the United States Army for two years of service. During his time in the Army, he decided that he would focus on pitching when he resumed his professional career. "I knew I wasn't getting anywhere, batting .246 in Class B, so I decided I'd better try something else if I wanted to stay in baseball, which I did, badly."

Discharged from the Army, Sturdivant was able to join the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League of the Class AA level for the remainder of their 1952 season. Harry Craft, the manager, supported him in his decision to become a pitcher and assigned him as roommate Hank Wyse, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player with the Chicago Cubs who mentored Sturdivant in the art of pitching. Sturdivant was 3–3 with a 3.56 ERA in 17 games (seven starts. In 1953, he had a 10–7 record with a 2.98 ERA for the Class AA Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association, striking out 104, walking 61, and allowing 130 hits in 139 innings pitched. Of his 47 appearances for Birmingham, just three were starts. In 1954, he started 20 of his 32 appearances with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association, a Class AAA level team that was New York's top minor league affiliate. With the Blues, he was 8–9 with a 3.57 ERA, 133 strikeouts, 59 walks, and 154 hits allowed in 169 innings.