Paul Edmore LaPalme was an American professional baseball pitcher who played from 1951 through 1957 for four different teams in Major League Baseball. Listed at 5 ft 10 in, 184 lb., he batted and threw left-handed. A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, LaPalme was a knuckleball specialist. He spent 16 years in baseball, pitching seven seasons in the major leagues and 12 in the minors. He also served in the Army from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. Nicknamed "Lefty", LaPalme started his professional career in 1941 at the age of 17, pitching for the Bristol Twins of the Appalachian League. He posted a 10?4 mark in 21 games and opened 1942 with the Erie Sailors of the Middle Atlantic League, going 12?11 with a 3.27 earned run average before joining the military. After being discharged, he returned to Bristol in 1946 and went 20?2 with 181 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA in 27 appearances. In 1949, he ended 14?13 with a 2.90 for the Class-A Hartford Chiefs, while leading the Eastern League with 162 strikeouts. LaPalme entered the majors in 1951 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing for them four years before joining the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Redlegs and Chicago White Sox. [More at Wikipedia]

December 14th, 1923 in Springfield  /  Died:   Feb 7th, 2010 - aged 86, after a brief illness