finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date death_place finaldate image statlabel debutteam name throws caption birth_place debutdate bats position article_title
1955 17 september 2001 1950 36-37 4.10 274 chicago cubs 12 september 1924 birmingham , alabama may 1 bubba church 1953.jpg win-loss era strikeouts philadelphia phillies bubba church right church in about 1953 . birmingham , alabama april 30 right pitcher bubba church

bubba church

emory nicholas `` bubba '' church -lrb- september 12 , 1924 -- september 17 , 2001 -rrb- was an american right-handed starting pitcher in major league baseball who played for the philadelphia phillies -lrb- - -rrb- , cincinnati reds -lrb- - -rrb- and chicago cubs -lrb- - -rrb- .
he was born in birmingham , alabama .
in a six-season career , church posted a 36 -- 37 record with 274 strikeouts and a 3.37 era in 999.2 innings pitched .
during his rookie season , church was playing a key role for the famed 1950 `` whiz kids '' phillies in their fight for a pennant .
he was an important member of a very young pitching staff , teaming with robin roberts , curt simmons , bob miller , and the dependable reliever jim konstanty .
however , church was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of cincinnati 's ted kluszewski .
the ball was hit so hard that it caromed into right field on the fly .
a week later , he was out on the mound again to face the hard-hitting dodgers , but after the game his season was over , and he did not play in the 1950 world series .
he finished 1950 at 8 -- 6 with an era of 2.73 and two shutouts in 142 innings .
church enjoyed his most productive season in , when he collected career-highs in victories -lrb- 15 -rrb- , strikeouts -lrb- 104 -rrb- , shutouts -lrb- 4 -rrb- and innings -lrb- 246 -rrb- , including a one-hitter over pittsburgh .
early in the 1952 season , he was traded to the reds .
church was 5 -- 9 for cincinnati , and 7 -- 8 for the reds and the chicago cubs in .
two and a half more seasons with the cubs , pitching only occasionally because of arm problems , brought his big league career to an end in .
church died at his home in birmingham , alabama , five days after reaching age 77 .
