Clyde Vollmer

Clyde Frederick Vollmer (September 24, 1921 – October 2, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he played in 685 Major League games for three teams: the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox. During the 1951 season with the Red Sox, his hot hitting earned him the nickname "Dutch the Clutch."[1] Vollmer threw and batted right-handed; he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).

Clyde Vollmer
Outfielder
Born: (1921-09-24)September 24, 1921
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Died: October 2, 2006(2006-10-02) (aged 85)
Florence, Kentucky, US
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 31, 1942, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September, 1, 1954, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average.251
Home runs69
Runs batted in339
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early career

Vollmer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a youth, he played for the Bridgetown Baseball League in Hamilton County, Ohio; Vollmer was a leader on the team that won the Hamilton County Grade School baseball championship in 1935, according to a publication called "News of the Reds" dated May 20, 1947.

Professional career

Vollmer graduated from Western Hills High School in 1938 and signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds the following year. [2]

Vollmer did not appear for the Reds until May 31, 1942. After playing only 12 games, the 21-year-old joined the Army. He fought in World War II for three years. After his discharge, Vollmer returned to the Reds.[3]

He played in the majors over ten seasons between 1942 and 1954. Vollmer's torrid stretch as a member of the 1951 Red Sox lasted from July 6–28. In 21 games played, Vollmer had 31 hits, including 13 home runs, four doubles, one triple, 40 runs batted in and 25 runs scored.[1] The streak saw him raise his batting average from .267 to .287 and included a three-homer game on July 26 against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.[4] For the season, however, he leveled off to a .251 average (matching his career mark), although he set personal bests in homers (22) and RBI (85). Boston sent him back to the Senators in 1953, and he finished his MLB career in September 1954 as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. In his 685 games in the majors, Vollmer had 508 total hits, including 77 doubles and 69 homers. Defensively, he was a good outfielder, recording a .984 fielding percentage at all three outfield positions.

He is one of only a handful of Major League Baseball players to hit a home run in their very first at-bat.

Personal and later life

In 1947 Vollmer married and later had a daughter, Claudia. Vollmer retired from baseball and acquired the Lark Lounge, which he owned for 20 years. He later was a member of the American Legion, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Cheviot Aerie No. 2197 and the Delhi Senior Citizens.

Clyde Vollmer died October 2, 2006, at St. Luke Hospital in Florence, Kentucky.[2] He is interred at Old St. Joseph's Cemetery in Cincinnati.[5]

See also

References
  1. York County Coast-Star (28 March 2019), "Dutch the Clutch" Remembered as Sox Start Another Season
  2. Cincinnati Enquirer
  3. "Baseball Library". Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  4. Information at Retrosheet
  5. baseball-almanac
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