Only when Elmer Burkart threw a baseball was he difficult. The Baltimore Orioles once brought him in for a relief effort during a ninth-inning rally -- two on, no outs -- and in 10 pitches he struck out the side. Everything was a strike, including a foul ball, in this dream-like performance that unfolded more than 50 years ago.
Burkart, nicknamed "Moose" and built like one, was a superb pitcher in the International League. He died at age 78 and will be buried on Friday with services at the Ruck Funeral Home in Towson.
The hard-throwing Burkart was with the Orioles in parts of seven seasons from 1938 to 1944 and was briefly with the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that originally signed him. Burkart enjoyed telling the story of how he was watching from the grandstand in Philadelphia in 1933, when Hack Wilson, recovering from a hard night, fell asleep in right field while visiting Philadelphia with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
What evolved remains one of the most amusing incidents to ever transpire in a major-league game. The Dodgers were pitching Walter "Boom Boom" Beck, so named because of his propensity for giving up line-drive hits. Beck was taking a pounding when the manager went out to make a change. Meanwhile, Wilson closed his eyes and dozed briefly under the hot afternoon sun while the mound conference continued.
Beck, infuriated he was being removed, vented his anger and instead of handing over the ball, fired it against the right-field wall in old Baker Bowl. The familiar sound of ball meeting fence startled Wilson from his slumber. He quickly reacted, almost on cue, by fielding the ricochet and making a perfect throw to second base . . . except there was no play to be made since the game hadn't resumed.
"What a lot of people missed," recalled Burkart, "is Beck was so annoyed that as he came across the foul line, walking toward the dugout, he threw his glove up in the grandstand. I spent a lot of years around baseball, in the minors and majors, and never saw anything like that ever happen again, a pitcher throwing both the ball and his glove away."
The memorable game when Burkart fanned three straight hitters on 10 pitches was in 1942, the Orioles facing the Rochester Red Wings at Oriole Park.
Burkart, besides continually offering the Orioles' quality pitching,
was involved in one of the most raucous and regrettable incidents in the history of the Baltimore franchise. It was the year before, 1941, after a bad Orioles team had put together an earlier losing streak of 13 in a row, that a fight broke out.
The club was in Toronto and, after suffering another loss, outfielders Murray "Red" Howell and Roy Johnson battled in a hotel room that resulted in both being suspended. Johnson was sent to Wellesley Hospital for a five-day period with both eyes blackened, facial lacerations and serious body bruises.
Both had been drinking and were discussing the merits of each other's abilities. It led to a heated argument that became physical. Howell, who had led the league in batting the year before with an average of .359, beat Johnson so severely that newspapers described him as "almost unrecognizable."
Howell was attempting to drop Johnson out of the hotel window when Burkart came from down the hall and intervened. He had to punch Howell, opening a gash over his left eye that required stitching. It was generally believed by the Orioles that because Burkart stepped in to take control that he was responsible for saving Johnson's life.
Actually, Johnson's brother, known as "Indian Bob" Johnson of the Philadelphia A's, was reported coming to Baltimore to meet Howell and "square the account," but cooler heads intervened. Neither Howell nor Johnson ever played for the Orioles again.
"It was agreed that Elmer saved Johnson's life," said Russ Niller, another Oriole pitcher at the time. "It's funny how at a time like this certain memories come back to you. Elmer had everyone's respect. He had a gruff exterior, but was as soft-hearted as they come. A great competitor."
After his pitching career was over, Burkart remained in Baltimore but worked as a general manager of minor-league clubs in the A's system. When the Orioles re-entered the American League in 1954, Elmer was appointed ticket manager and remained in the position until 1963, when he became a real estate salesman in the Towson/Lutherville area.
Elmer Burkart survived baseball's combat when players were hard-bitten, rough around the edges and their rewards only modest. He was much a part of Baltimore's grand baseball history.