Major League Baseball Player. The left-handed knuckleball pitcher conceivably had a huge impact on the 1946 World Series, even though he never pitched in any Fall Classic. While the St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers were playing the best-of-three playoff series to determine the National League champion, the Boston Red Sox played a team of American League All-Stars in three games to stay sharp. The Stars' roster included Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, Luke Appling, Hal Newhouser, Stan Spence, Snuffy Stirnweiss, Cecil Travis, Joe Grace, Birdie Tebbetts, Ed Lopat (the pitcher also played first base in Game 1), Dizzy Trout and Haefner. In the fifth inning of Game 1 on Oct. 1, the 5-foot-8 Haefner hit Williams on the right elbow with a pitch. Leon Culberson went to run for Williams, and the slugger didn't play in the two other exhibiton games. Williams hit just .200 (5 for 25) with no extra-base hits and 1 RBI as the Cardinals won the Series in seven games. Haefner for a time was a member of the Washington Senators' quartet of knuckleballers that included Dutch Leonard, Roger Wolff and Johnny Niggeling. He pitched for the Senators from 1943-49. He was 11-5 with a 2.29 earned run average in 1943, 12-15 with a 3.04 ERA in 1944, 16-14 with a 3.47 ERA in 1945 and 14-11 with a 2.85 ERA in 1946. He was sold to the Chicago White Sox on July 21, 1949 and finished his career with the Boston Braves in 1950. His eight-year totals were 78-91 with a 3.50 ERA.
Major League Baseball Player. The left-handed knuckleball pitcher conceivably had a huge impact on the 1946 World Series, even though he never pitched in any Fall Classic. While the St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers were playing the best-of-three playoff series to determine the National League champion, the Boston Red Sox played a team of American League All-Stars in three games to stay sharp. The Stars' roster included Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, Luke Appling, Hal Newhouser, Stan Spence, Snuffy Stirnweiss, Cecil Travis, Joe Grace, Birdie Tebbetts, Ed Lopat (the pitcher also played first base in Game 1), Dizzy Trout and Haefner. In the fifth inning of Game 1 on Oct. 1, the 5-foot-8 Haefner hit Williams on the right elbow with a pitch. Leon Culberson went to run for Williams, and the slugger didn't play in the two other exhibiton games. Williams hit just .200 (5 for 25) with no extra-base hits and 1 RBI as the Cardinals won the Series in seven games. Haefner for a time was a member of the Washington Senators' quartet of knuckleballers that included Dutch Leonard, Roger Wolff and Johnny Niggeling. He pitched for the Senators from 1943-49. He was 11-5 with a 2.29 earned run average in 1943, 12-15 with a 3.04 ERA in 1944, 16-14 with a 3.47 ERA in 1945 and 14-11 with a 2.85 ERA in 1946. He was sold to the Chicago White Sox on July 21, 1949 and finished his career with the Boston Braves in 1950. His eight-year totals were 78-91 with a 3.50 ERA.
Bio by: Ron Coons
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