Howie Fox

Howie Fox
File:HowieFox1953bowman.jpg
Pitcher
Born: (1921-03-01)March 1, 1921 Coburg, Oregon
Died: San Antonio, Texas
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 28, 1944, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September 25, 1954, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	43–72
Earned run average	4.33
Strikeouts	342
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1944–1946, 1948–1951) Philadelphia Phillies (1952) Baltimore Orioles (1954)

Howard Francis Fox (March 1, 1921 – October 9, 1955) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between the 1944 and 1954 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 210 lb., Fox batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Coburg, Oregon.

A hard thrower with a sharp curveball, Fox was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in 1943 out of the University of Oregon. He entered the majors in 1945 with the Reds, playing seven years before joining the Philadelphia Phillies (1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1954). His most productive season came in 1950 for Cincinnati, when he went 11–8, a year after his 6–19 record gave him the most losses of any pitcher in the major leagues. In 1951, he collected nine victories with a 3.83 ERA in a career-high 228 innings, but got 14 losses.

Before the 1952 season, Fox was dealt to Philadelphia in a seven-player transaction that included Smoky Burgess, Niles Jordan, Eddie Pellagrini, Connie Ryan, Andy Seminick and Dick Sisler. In 1953, he played for Triple-A Baltimore, and a year later pitched his last season, for the Orioles.

In nine major league seasons, Fox posted a 43–72 record with 342 strikeouts and a 4.33 ERA in 248 appearances, including 132 starts, 42 complete games, five shutouts, six saves, and 1,108⅓ innings of work. A good-hitting pitcher, he was used to pinch-hit periodically. In 253 games he hit .189 with two home runs and 25 RBI.

Fox also played in the Venezuelan Winter League (1953–55) and in the 1954 Caribbean Series. After pitching in the Texas League in 1955, Fox was stabbed to death after ejecting three men from a tavern he owned in San Antonio. He was 34 years old at the time of his death.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• BR Bullpen
• Baseball Library
• Retrosheet
• The Deadball Era
• Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
• Howie Fox at Find a Grave