Bob Lemon

Bob Lemon spent his entire professional baseball career with the Cleveland Indians organization, first as a position player and later as a Hall of Fame pitcher. Born in San Bernardino, California, on September 22, 1920, he grew up in Long Beach after his father moved the family’s ice business there. At Wilson Classical High School, Lemon played shortstop and was named California’s state baseball player of the year in 1938. That same year, at age 17, he began his pro career in Cleveland’s farm system, playing for the Oswego Netherlands of the Canadian–American League and later the Springfield Indians of the Middle Atlantic League.

He hit .312 in 75 games with Oswego, then .293 in 80 games with Springfield the next season. After a .309 season with the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association, he spent two years with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Eastern League, hitting .255 in 1940 and .301 in 1941. His final minor-league stint came in 1942 with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, where he batted .268 with 21 home runs.

Lemon made his major league debut as a third baseman on September 9, 1941, a late-season call-up. He appeared in five games, collecting one hit in five plate appearances. In 1942 he again played five games but failed to get a hit. He then served in the United States Navy during World War II, missing the next three seasons.

Before leaving for duty in 1943, he married Jane McGee. When he returned in 1946, Lemon was the Indians’ Opening Day center fielder. On April 30, Bob Feller no-hit the New York Yankees; Feller later credited Lemon’s “daring catch” and a double play off second base for preserving the no-hitter. By the end of that season, however, Lemon had appeared more often as a pitcher than as a utility player.

Before 1946, he had pitched only one inning for Oswego and one for Wilkes-Barre. Detroit’s Birdie Tebbetts and Boston’s Johnny Pesky, who had faced Lemon in Navy baseball, urged Indians player-manager Lou Boudreau to try him on the mound. Boudreau also consulted Yankees catcher Bill Dickey, another Navy teammate. “I knew Lemon had a strong arm, and once I realized he was not going to hit with consistency as an outfielder, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at him as a pitcher,” Boudreau later wrote.

Lemon initially resisted but agreed after learning pitchers earned higher salaries. He credited coach Bill McKechnie for helping him adjust, and pitching coach Mel Harder taught him the slider, which became a key pitch. Indians owner Bill Veeck predicted Lemon “some day will become the best pitcher in the American League.” Lemon finished 1946 with a 4–5 record—the only losing mark of his career until 1957—and a career-low 2.49 ERA.

The next season he went 11–5, appearing in 19 games before August mostly as a reliever, then making his first start in July against the Red Sox. Over the final two months, he went 9–3 with six complete games, including two 11-inning outings.

Before the 1948 season, Veeck doubled Lemon’s salary. That year, Lemon became the Indians’ number-two starter behind Bob Feller. On June 30, he no-hit the Detroit Tigers in a 2–0 win, becoming the ninth Indians pitcher to throw a no-hitter and earning his 11th win and fifth shutout of the season. He finished the year with an AL-best 20 complete games and a major-league-leading ten shutouts. Lemon’s two pitching wins in the 1948 World Series helped Cleveland win its first championship since 1920. In the early 1950s, he was part of a formidable starting rotation that also included Feller, Mike Garcia, and Early Wynn. During the 1954 season, Lemon posted a career-best 23–7 record, and the Indians set a 154-game AL record with 111 wins before winning the pennant. He was an All-Star for seven straight seasons and recorded seven 20-win seasons in a nine-year span from 1948 to 1956.

After his playing career, Lemon managed the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees. He was named Manager of the Year with both the White Sox and the Yankees. In 1978, the White Sox fired him, but he became Yankees manager one month later and led the team to a World Series title that year, followed by an American League championship in 1981. He was the first AL manager to win a World Series after taking over midseason. Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. He died on January 11, 2000.