Fritz Ostermueller

Frederick Raymond "Fritz" Ostermueller (September 15, 1907 – December 17, 1957) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1948, playing for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. While with Pittsburgh, he coined a quote frequently misattributed to teammate Ralph Kiner: "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs; singles hitters drive Fords."

Early life Ostermueller was born to German immigrants George Ostermuller and Anna Wink. He was the ace of the Pirates staff in 1947 and 1948 at the age of 41 and was called "Old Folks."

As a hitter, Ostermueller was better than average for a pitcher. He posted a .234 batting average (175-for-749) with 60 runs, 62 RBI and 35 bases on balls. He did not hit any home runs in his major league career.

In popular culture Ostermueller was portrayed in the film 42 by Linc Hand. In the film, Ostermueller hits Jackie Robinson with a high pitch, but in a subsequent game Robinson hits a game winning home run off him.

In reality Ostermueller's first inning pitch hit Robinson on the left wrist, not his head, and he claimed it was a routine brushback pitch without racist intent. His family denied that he was a racist, it was just "a movie ploy." There was no fight on the mound afterwards.

Later life and death Ostermueller coached in college and built and became the owner-operator of the Diamond Motel in Quincy, Illinois. He died on December 17, 1957, aged 50, of colon cancer.