Charles Adrian "Spider" Baum (May 28, 1882 – June 28, 1955) was an American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 19 years from 1902 to 1920, including 15 years in Pacific Coast League (PCL) with the Los Angeles Angels (1903–1905), Sacramento Sacts (1909–1912), Vernon/Venice Tigers (1912–1913), San Francisco Seals (1914–1919), Salt Lake City Bees (1919–1920). He compiled a career win–loss record of 302-250.[1]
| Spider Baum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: May 28, 1882 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: June 28, 1955 (aged 73) Renton, Washington, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right |
After the 1913 season, the Tigers traded Baum to the San Francisco Seals for Cack Henley and Roy McArdle.[2] He won 30 games in 1915 and had nine seasons in which he won at least 20 games. When he retired after the 1920 season, he held the record with 261 wins in PCL games. His record was broken in 1934 by Frank Shellenback.[3] He has been inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.[4]
After retiring as a player, Baum became a baseball executive. He was the vice president and secretary of the Salt Lake City club in the late 1920s and continued in that role when the club moved west and became the Hollywood Stars. He later served as vice president of the San Diego Padres baseball club from 1937 to 1938 and president from 1938 to 1939.[5]
Baum joined the Rohr Aircraft Corporation in 1940.[6]
His son, Jack, was killed in September 1943 while participating in a bombing mission over Germany.[7]
Baum died in 1955 in Renton, Washington, at age 73.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Charles Baum". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ "Baum is Traded for M'Ardle and Henley". Newspapers.com. January 3, 1914. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ "Shellenback Seeks 262nd League Win". The Whittier News. April 5, 1934. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spider Baum". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ "Spider Baum Ousted as Padre Prexy". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1993. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spider Baum In New Post". The San Francisco Examiner. January 23, 1943. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spider Baum's Son Killed in Raid on Germany". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1943. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spider Baum, Spitball Hurler Who Won 261 PCL Games, Dead at 73". The San Francisco Examiner. July 1, 1955. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Media related to Spider Baum at Wikimedia Commons
