Bob Swift

Catcher / Manager

Born: March 6, 1915
Salina, Kansas

Died: October 17, 1966 (aged 51)
Detroit, Michigan

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

April 16, 1940, for the St. Louis Browns

Last MLB appearance

September 27, 1953, for the Detroit Tigers

MLB statistics

Batting average

.231

Home runs

Runs batted in

238

Managerial record

56–43

Winning %

.566

Teams

As player

As manager

Detroit Tigers (1965, 1966)

Career highlights and awards

World Series champion (1945)

Robert Virgil Swift (March 6, 1915 – October 17, 1966) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, standing 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg). He threw and batted right-handed.

Swift is pictured in one of the most famous photographs in American sporting history. He was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951, when St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sent midget Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit during an actual MLB game. The stunt was inspired by the James Thurber short story You Could Look It Up and Gaedel was allowed to bat when the Browns showed the umpires a legitimate baseball contract. Swift knelt on the ground to receive pitcher Bob Cain's offerings—it is this kneeling stance that is captured in the photo—and Gaedel took a base on balls. He was immediately replaced at first base by a pinch runner and he never appeared in a big league game again; he had had no baseball experience in the first place.

While Gaedel was a novice, Swift, a native of Salina, Kansas, played 14 consecutive seasons (1940–53) in the big leagues. Primarily a second-string catcher, he toiled for the Browns (1940–42), Philadelphia Athletics (1942–43) and Tigers (1944–53), appearing in 1,001 games and hitting .231. A good defensive catcher, he batted and threw right-handed.

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