Richard Conger (April 3, 1921 – February 16, 1970) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies. ^[1] His key pitch was the fastball. ^[2]

Early life

Conger was born in Los Angeles, California, and was Jewish. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} He attended Fremont High School in Los Angeles, for whom he played baseball, and as a sophomore won 17 consecutive games on the way to a City title. ^[7] He also led the team to the City Championship in his senior year in 1938. ^[7]

He then attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where Conger also played baseball. ^{[8] [9] [10]} He lost only one game as a freshman for the UCLA Bruins, before signing with the Detroit Tigers in 1940. ^[7]

Baseball career

In the minor leagues, in 1943 with the Toronto Maple Leafs Conger was 11–6 with a 1.96 ERA (3rd in the International League). ^[11] In 1944 with the Los Angeles Angels he was 13–7 with a 2.88 ERA, and 5 shutouts (tied for 7th in the Pacific Coast League). ^[12]

Conger pitched in the major leagues from 1940 (when at 19 years of age he was the second-youngest player in the American League, behind Hal Newhouser) to 1943. ^{[13] [14] [15]} In his major league career he was 3–7 with a 5.14 ERA, and four complete games. ^[14]

From 1944 to 1946 Conger served in the Marine Corps during World War II. ^{[16] [17]}

After his major league career, Conger continued to play in the minor leagues, his last season being with the Sacramento Solons ( PCL) and Oklahoma City Indians ( Texas League) in 1950. ^[18] He died at 48 years of age. ^[5]

On June 26, 2011, Conger was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. ^[19]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or  Baseball Reference, or  Baseball Reference (Minors), or  Retrosheet
• Dick Conger at Find a Grave

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