Gene Bearden
| Gene Bearden | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: September 5, 1920 Lexa, Arkansas |
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Died: March 18, 2004 (aged 83) Alexander City, Alabama |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 10, 1947, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 5, 1953, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 45–38 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.96 | ||
| Strikeouts | 259 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Henry Eugene Bearden (September 5, 1920 – March 18, 2004) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox between 1947 and 1953. He is best known for his pitching heroics during his rookie season, 1948, when he led the Indians to the American League pennant and World Series championship. Born in Lexa, Arkansas, and raised in Tennessee, Bearden was listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 198 pounds (90 kg).
Bearden's rookie season was all the more remarkable because, five years earlier, he had been seriously injured in battle in World War II. Serving in the United States Navy aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific Theater of Operations, he was working in the engine room of the light cruiser when it was struck by three Japanese torpedoes on July 6, 1943, during the Battle of Kula Gulf. Forced to abandon ship as the Helena sank, Bearden fell from a ladder on the deck and sustained a fractured skull and a crushed kneecap. Hospitalized until early 1945, he underwent surgeries that inserted metal plates in his head and knee to treat his injuries.
In a 1949 autobiographical article published in The Sporting News' Official Baseball Register, Bearden declined to discuss his wartime experience, saying: "I was just another gob, luckier than many, because I met up with a doctor who is, to me, the best orthopedic surgeon in the business."
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