Pete Appleton

Peter William Appleton (May 20, 1904 – January 18, 1974), born Peter Jablonowski and sometimes known as "Jabby" and the "Polish Wizard," was an American baseball player, scout, and manager.

Appleton played college baseball for the University of Michigan and played professional baseball from 1926 to 1951, including stints as a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns. He compiled a record of 57–66 in 343 games in Major League Baseball.

He changed his surname from Jablonowski to Appleton in 1934. After retiring as a player, Appleton remained active in baseball as a scout and manager. He was a manager of minor league teams in the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization for 20 years.

Early years Appleton was born as Peter Jablonowski in 1904 at Terryville, Connecticut. His father was a foreman at the Eagle Lock Co. in Terryville. He was selected as an all-state forward in basketball and broke the Connecticut state record with a distance of 39 feet, 4 inches in the shot put. A newspaper profile of Jablonowski in 1930 noted: "He plays a mean piano. And no amount of persuasion will induce him to mix jazz with his Chopin and Beethoven. It remains to be seen how many more ball teams will fall for is 'slow music' on the diamond."

Jablonowski had three younger brothers, Joe, John, and Alec, who also played baseball. Joe played baseball at the University of New Hampshire. John played "twilight ball" in Terryville and struck out 16 batters in a game in 1929. During a trip to the South in the early part of the season, Jablonowski was the starting pitcher in Michigan's first win of the 1924 season, a 10–1 victory over Alabama Polytechnical School (now known as Auburn University). In his second start on the road trip, Jablonowski won a 3–1 decision against Mississippi A&M College (now known as Mississippi State University). The 1925 Michiganensian noted: "Jablonowski showed excellent form on the mound." On May 31, 1924, he was the winning pitcher and struck out 11 batters in the game that secured the Big Ten championship for Michigan — a 9–0 shutout victory against Wisconsin. In the final game of the 1924 season, Jablonowski threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only five hits and striking out 13 batters in an 11–0 victory over Japan's championship team from Meiji University.

In 1925, Jablonowski helped lead the Michigan baseball team to a 17–8 record. In the Big Ten Conference opener on May 2, 1925, he threw a one-hitter against Illinois, but lost 1–0 after two throwing errors allowed the Illini to score a run. The 1926 Michiganensian described the one hit allowed by Jablonowski as a "scratch hit," and some opined that the game should have been called a no-hitter as the hit came on a bobbled ground ball that the Illinois scorer credited as a base hit. Jablonowski was also a strong batter for Michigan, compiling a .342 batting average in 1926 – the third highest on the team behind William H. Puckelwartz (.441) and Bennie Oosterbaan (.364).

Although the University of Michigan yearbooks identified Jablonowski as a pitcher, Appleton's obituary in The Sporting News noted that he also played shortstop and was part of a Michigan infield that was known as the "jawbreaker infield", including Jablonowski, Oosterbaan and Puckelwartz.

While attending Michigan, Jablonowski lived at Fletcher Hall and was a member of the Polonia Literary Club.

Professional baseball

Overview Appleton played professional baseball for 26 years from 1926 to 1951. He played for six major league and 12 minor league teams. In a game against Bridgeport in August 1926, he allowed three hits in a 1–0 victory. One week later, on August 17, 1926, Jablonowski threw a no-hitter against Bridgeport. Jablonowsky faced 29 batters, and Bridgeport hit only four balls out of the infield.

Cincinnati Reds On October 1, 1926, the Cincinnati Reds drafted Jablonowski from Waterbury in the Rule 5 draft. After appearing in 40 games for the Hartford Senators (Eastern League) during the 1927 season with an earned run average of 2.99, Jablonowski remained with the Reds in 1928. Over the course of the 1927 and 1928 seasons, he appeared in a total of 37 games for the Reds with a record of 5–5. During the 1929 season, he compiled an 18–12 record for the Senators. He remained with the Indians from 1930 to 1932. In one of his first games for Cleveland, Jablonowski held the St. Louis Browns to one run. After the game, a newspaper wrote that Jablonowski studied psychology as a hobby and used it as part of his pitching technique:"'Psych one.' 'Psyche two.' 'Psych three.' 'Batter's out.' They're going to have to change the terminology of baseball when Peter William Jablonowski does the pitching. For when Peter can't strike 'em out, he's got his mind made up to psych 'em out, which after all may be just as good, if it wins ball games." He appeared in 11 games for the Red Sox in 1932, compiling an 0–3 record. Jablonowski appeared in 12 games for Newark in 1932 and compiled an 11–1 record with a 3.73 ERA. He joined the Yankees in March 1933, but he appeared in only one regular-season game for the team, pitching two scoreless innings.

In early June 1933, the Yankees gave Jablonowski an outright release, sending him back to the Newark Bears. At Newark, Jablonowski put together a second strong season, compiling a 13–7 record in 22 games with a 3.88 ERA.

A third theory advanced by James was that he had recently married lawyer Aldona Eugenie Leszczynski , who "just couldn't stomach the prospect of going through the rest of her life as Aldora Leszcynski Jablonowski."

International League Appleton spent the 1934 season in the International League, playing for the Rochester Red Wings and Baltimore Orioles. He had the best season of his career in Montreal, compiling a 23–9 record with a 3.17 ERA. Appleton won three games for the Senators in April 1936, the opening month of the 1936 season, including a two-hitter against the defending 1935 World Series champions the Detroit Tigers. He had his best Major League season in 1936 with a 14–9 record and 88 strikeouts in 201-2/3 innings pitched. His 3.53 ERA in 1936 was the third best in the American League. Appleton appeared in 42 games as a relief pitcher for the White Sox from 1940 to 1942 while compiling a 4–3 record. He appeared in 14 games as a relief pitcher for the 1942 Browns with a 2.96 ERA. By the end of the 1942 season, Appleton was 38 years old and the 10th oldest player in Major League Baseball. Appleton was initially assigned to duty in North Carolina where he played for a Navy Pre-Flight baseball team and entertained cadets with his talent as a pianist. He also pitched for the Flyers during his wartime service. Appleton was discharged from the Navy in July 1945.

Final Major League season After completing his military service, Appleton returned to the St. Louis Browns halfway through the 1945 season. He compiled a 15.43 ERA in two games and was released by the Browns in August 1945. He signed as a free agent with the Senators at the end of August 1945. He concluded his major meague career appearing in six games for the Senators in 1945 with a 3.38 ERA. He appeared in his final major league game on September 20, 1945. At age 41, he was the eighth oldest player in the major leagues at the end of the 1945 season. He was given an outright release by Buffalo "to allow him an opportunity to shop for a managerial job."

In July 1948, Appleton signed with the Sherman–Denison Twins in the Big State League. He played there in 1948 and 1949. In 1950, he took over as the player-manager of the Augusta Tigers in the Sally League.

Appleton concluded his playing career in 1951 as a player-manager for the Erie Sailors in the Middle Atlantic League. Appleton was 47 years old when he appeared in his final game as a professional baseball player in 1951. the Augusta Tigers in 1950, and the Erie Sailors in 1951. He also had stints as a manager for the Roanoke Rapids Jays (1952), Charlotte Hornets (1954, 1970), Atlanta Crackers (1964), and Wisconsin Rapids Twins (1965). He served as a scout and pitching instructor in the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization from the mid-1950s until they assigned him to replace Jack McKeon at the helm of the Atlanta Crackers in June 1964.

Later years In January 1974, Appleton died at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, at the age of 69. He was buried at St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia, New Jersey.