Elbie Fletcher

Elburt Preston Fletcher (March 18, 1916 – March 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played all or part of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves (1934–35) and Bees (1937–39), Pittsburgh Pirates (1939–43, 1946–47) and Braves again (1949). Fletcher batted and threw left-handed.

Elbie Fletcher
First baseman
Born: (1916-03-18)March 18, 1916 Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died: March 9, 1994(1994-03-09) (aged 77) Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 16, 1934, for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1949, for the Boston Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	79
Runs batted in	616
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Boston Braves / Bees (1934–1935, 1937–1939) Pittsburgh Pirates (1939–1943, 1946–1947) Boston Braves (1949)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (1943)

Fletcher made his major league debut in 1934 in an unusual way. A contest was held to determine which Boston-area high school player was most likely to reach the major leagues, with the winner receiving an invitation to the Braves' spring training camp. With the help of a number of votes from his large family, Fletcher won, and then actually made the team.^[1]

Fletcher led the National League in bases on balls in 1940 and '41 with 119 and 118 respectively and in on-base percentage in 1940, '41 and '42 with .418, .421 and .417 marks respectively.

During a 12-season career, Fletcher posted a .271 batting average with 79 home runs and 616 RBI in 1415 games played. Defensively, he recorded a .993 fielding percentage playing every inning of his major league career at first base.

Fletcher died in Milton, Massachusetts, nine days before his 78th birthday, and was buried in Milton Cemetery.

Notes

1. David Finoli; Bill Rainer (2003). The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-58261-416-8.

Further reading

• Honig, Donald (1975) Baseball When the Grass Was Real: Baseball from the Twenties to the Forties Told by the Men Who Played It. New York: Coward, McGann & Geoghegan. pp. 58–71. SBN 698-10660-1.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Elbie Fletcher at Find a Grave

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