- Frank Croucher
Frank Donald Croucher (
July 23 ,1914 –May 21 ,1980 ), nicknamed "Dingle," [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=croucfr01] was aMajor League Baseball infielder who played 4 years inMajor League Baseball , primarily as ashortstop , for theDetroit Tigers (1939-1941) and Washington Senators (1942).Born in
San Antonio, Texas , Croucher played for the minor leagueToledo Mudhens in 1937 [http://www.mudhens.com/info/all_time_roster.asp?view=2&type=L&letter=C] and missed the 1938 season with a broken leg. In 1939, Croucher broke into the major leagues, taking over the shortstop position from longtime Detroit favorite,Billy Rogell . Croucher lost the starting job in 1940 toDick Bartell , but regained it 1941. Croucher played 1 inning in Game 6 of the 1940 World Series at shortstop, as a replacement forDick Bartell , but did not bat. On December 12, 1941, Croucher was traded by the Detroit Tigers withBruce Campbell to the Washington Senators forJimmy Bloodworth andDoc Cramer . Croucher missed most of 1942 with a sore arm, playing only 26 games for the Senators. Croucher then went into military service during World War II. Croucher attempted a comeback after the war in 1946, playing for the Mudhens, [http://www.mudhens.com/info/all_time_roster.asp?view=2&type=L&letter=C] but never made it back to the major leagues.In four major league seasons, Croucher played in 296 games and had a .251
batting average , a .295On base percentage and a .324slugging percentage .Croucher died in
Houston, Texas in 1980 at age 65.External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/croucfr01.shtml Baseball-Reference.com]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Frank_Croucher_1914 Baseball Library.com]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=croucfr01 Baseball Almanac]
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