1904
Born October 16, 1904
Decatur, IL, USA
Boom-Boom Beck Marquee
b. October 16, 1904 · St. Louis Browns 1924, 1927–1928, Brooklyn Dodgers 1933–1934, Philadelphia Phillies 1939–1942, Philadelphia Blue Jays 1943, Detroit Tigers 1944, Cincinnati Reds 1945, Pittsburgh Pirates 1945
Beck received his largest workload with Brooklyn in 1933. He went 12-20 with a 3.54 earned run average across 257 innings, completing 15 of 35 starts and throwing three shutouts. The losses reflected a heavy burden for a club that finished sixth.
Twelve seasons gave him a 38-69 record, six saves, 352 strikeouts and a 4.30 earned run average in 1,034 innings. He started 100 of his 265 appearances, completed 44 games and threw three shutouts. His career stretched across 22 years because of several long absences.
Beck first appeared for the Browns in 1924, returned in 1927 and later pitched for Brooklyn and Philadelphia. He stayed with the Phillies as they used the Blue Jays name in 1943, then moved to Detroit in 1944. Cincinnati sent him to Pittsburgh during his final 1945 season. He died in 1987, at eighty-two.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | SLB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1927 | SLB | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 1928 | SLB | 16 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .429 |
| 1933 | BRO | 43 | 95 | 5 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 0 | .189 |
| 1934 | BRO | 22 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .235 |
| 1939 | PHI | 34 | 68 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .132 |
| 1940 | PHI | 29 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .056 |
| 1941 | PHI | 34 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .120 |
| 1942 | PHI | 27 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1943 | PHI | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| 1944 | DET | 28 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .318 |
| 1945 | CIN/PIT | 25 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .167 |
| Career | — | 266 | 327 | 17 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 46 | 0 | .187 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | SLB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1927 | SLB | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11.1 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5.56 |
| 1928 | SLB | 2 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 49.0 | 52 | 24 | 20 | 17 | 4.41 |
| 1933 | BRO | 12 | 20 | 43 | 35 | 1 | 257.0 | 270 | 101 | 69 | 89 | 3.54 |
| 1934 | BRO | 2 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 57.0 | 72 | 47 | 32 | 24 | 7.42 |
| 1939 | PHI | 7 | 14 | 34 | 16 | 3 | 182.2 | 203 | 96 | 64 | 77 | 4.73 |
| 1940 | PHI | 4 | 9 | 29 | 15 | 0 | 129.1 | 147 | 62 | 41 | 38 | 4.31 |
| 1941 | PHI | 1 | 9 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 95.1 | 104 | 49 | 35 | 34 | 4.63 |
| 1942 | PHI | 0 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 53.0 | 69 | 28 | 17 | 10 | 4.75 |
| 1943 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 9.88 |
| 1944 | DET | 1 | 2 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 74.0 | 67 | 32 | 27 | 25 | 3.89 |
| 1945 | CIN/PIT | 8 | 5 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 110.2 | 96 | 33 | 26 | 29 | 2.68 |
| Career | — | 38 | 69 | 265 | 100 | 6 | 1034.0 | 1121 | 494 | 342 | 352 | 4.30 |
On this day & linked events
1987
Died May 7, 1987
1924
Major-league debut: Boom-Boom Beck
Boom-Boom Beck made a major-league debut on September 22, 1924.
1945
Final major-league game: Boom-Boom Beck
Boom-Boom Beck played a final major-league game on September 26, 1945.
Image: Goudey, public domain