Babe Twombly

As a 25-year-old Chicago Cubs outfielder and pinch-hitter Babe Twombly hit .377, a figure that usually warrants further employment at the major league level. Instead, it was the last season in the big leagues for the young man, who was shipped out west to the Pacific Coast League and didn’t look back.

Clarence Edward Twombly Jr. was born on January 18, 1896, in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The third of four children, he was raised in Medford, a few miles north of the city. Brothers John Edward (Ed) and George preceded him, and a sister, Mabel, was the youngest of the quartet. His mother, Florence Isabel Twombly (née Brannen), and father met while working at a stationers.1 C.E. Twombly Sr. was a noted pigeon fancier and the children grew up surrounded by animals, including pet goats that the brothers raced up and down the street.2 Twombly Sr. later owned a pet shop before starting a paper cup manufacturing business with Ed.3 He was also the publisher of The Pigeon News, participated in fancy pigeon exhibitions, and competed in harness racing events with his horses.4

George Twombly, four years older than Clarence Jr., was the starting shortstop at Medford High School before beginning a professional career that took him to the major leagues. Clarence followed in George’s footsteps at Medford High, taking over at shortstop in 1911 after the latter graduated. Already known as “Babe” by this point, Twombly went by that nickname throughout his baseball career. In Babe’s first two seasons, the team became Suburban League champions. In 1912 the left-handed hitter led the team in batting average (.410), runs (29), and stolen bases (24), winning a gold watch for having the highest average.5

At Medford High Twombly also played halfback and quarterback in football (over his parents’ objections)6 and ran track.7 8 After graduating in 1913, Twombly played summer ball with Keene (New Hampshire) in the semiprofessional Twin State League, before enrolling at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the fall.9

In his first year at Lehigh, Twombly batted leadoff while splitting time between center and left field. His freshman season was dramatically curtailed on May 8, 1914, when he fractured his left leg below the knee on a slide into second base.10 Twombly was taken to nearby St. Luke’s Hospital, where trainee nurse Elenor Petree11 was put in charge of Babe’s care. Three years later, the couple were married.1213

On August 8 he was back in Boston to take in proceedings at Fenway Park, where his brother George—then a member of the Cincinnati Reds—was feted with a “Twombly Day” in a game against the Braves.14 Babe recovered from his injuries to resume leadoff hitter duties for Lehigh in the 1915 season, this time as a first baseman. A successful season saw him awarded the “Baseball Cup,” given to the team’s best all-around player.15 In the summer he was back in the Twin State League representing Newport, New Hampshire. His teammates there noted that he has “all the earmarks of a great player.”16 In the fall he played football at Lehigh for the first time, filling in at left halfback for the season.17

After a strong 1916 season Twombly was elected captain for his senior year.18 Before then he had one more year of summer ball, this time with the Skowhegan, Maine nine.19 Also playing ball at Lehigh in 1916 and 1917 was Cy Twombly, a fellow Massachusettsan who was unrelated to Babe but crossed paths professionally with Babe and his brother George at different times.

Under Babe Twombly’s captaincy (and helped by his .392 batting average), Lehigh won the 1917 Middle Atlantic States championship and was honored with a banquet.20 After the season Babe and Elenor were married. Elenor graduated from nursing school and had been practicing in Winston-Salem for the last year.21 Shortly after their marriage, Twombly, who had been president of the Business Administration Club22 and wrote his senior thesis on municipal bonds,23 received his degree in business administration.24

Following graduation Twombly took a position with the Bethlehem Steel Corporation and represented Bethlehem in center field in the industry baseball league.25 That winter, Twombly taught at evening school to help foreign steelworkers learn English as part of a joint program between the Lehigh University YMCA and Bethlehem Steel.26

Twombly remained with Bethlehem Steel in 1918, and this time played right field on its summer league team. As an employee at the steelworks, he was exempt from the draft for World War I and faced major leaguers such as Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was criticized for avoiding military service.27 Twombly’s Bethlehem team played in the championship playoff series for the second year in a row. The decisive game featured a matchup between future Hall of Famer Eddie Plank, representing Steelton, and 1912 National League ERA leader Jeff Tesreau. Twombly was used as a pinch-runner in the final inning for Bethlehem but was left on base as Steelton took the title.28

In 1919 Twombly moved closer to his native Medford by transferring to the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. He manned the outfield positions while batting leadoff in the Steel League.29 For the second time he followed closely in his brother’s wake, as George had briefly been a member of the team the previous year.30

The following spring, Twombly left semipro baseball behind and signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs.31 Twombly impressed in spring training in Pasadena by “hitting the ball hard, stealing bases and showing much speed in the field.” He was in contention for a starting spot in the outfield.32

Although he started on Opening Day of 1920 in left field for the Cubs, for the next two months he was restricted to appearances as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement and did not start again until June 11. Twombly manned right field throughout July, but some misplays raised doubts about his defense. On July 15 “ragged outfielding” allowed a single to get past him.33 The following day he lost a popup in the sun.34

On July 29 a late slide at home plate from Twombly left Boston Braves catcher Mickey O’Neil with a flesh wound and in need of a new pair of pants. Boston’s fans jeered Chicago’s center fielder, who later apologized to O’Neil and insisted that no harm was intended. The Boston Globe reported that accusations of “rough stuff” were unfounded and “entirely foreign to [Twombly’s] nature.”35

At the plate Twombly was hitting for average in the early going; through the first game of a doubleheader on July 14, his average stood at .333. However, he was 10-for-84 with no extra bases in 37 games thereafter. He finished the year with a .235 batting average in 183 at-bats with just four extra-base hits and five stolen bases. One reporter wrote that Twombly “showed flashes of speed … but didn’t get into a good batting stride, though he never was in for a long enough period to be a fair test.”36

In each of his first three games of 1921, Twombly recorded a pinch hit — the first two being doubles—and two RBIs. Despite the 3-for-3 start, he had to wait over two weeks for another at-bat. When he did get one, he yet again notched a pinch hit, this time an RBI double. It is the only time in the American or National since 1901 that a player has come to the plate exactly once in his first four games of the season and recorded a base hit each time.37

The next day Twombly, again coming off the bench, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored the winning run in the ninth. This was enough to finally force his way into the lineup, and he delivered multi-hit games in four of his next five outings. Through 10 games Twombly was 17-for-26. His .654 batting average is the highest through a player’s first 10 games of the season in the NL or AL since at least 1901 (minimum 25 at-bats in those 10 games).38

As they had for his brother George, Medford rooters arranged to celebrate Babe when the Cubs came to visit the Braves in mid-May. “Twombly Day” was scheduled for May 14, but rain pushed the game at Braves Field back to May 16.39 The mayor of Medford presented Twombly with a $100 check, a certificate for 25 shares of stock, and a bouquet.40 Unfortunately for Twombly and his fans, the 25-year-old went hitless at the plate (for the first time all season) and made an error in the field.

By the end of May, Twombly had lost his place in the starting lineup and did not help his cause with some flubs on the basepaths and in the field in June. As a pinch-runner on June 4, he stumbled between third and home, costing the Cubs the chance to tie the game.41 On June 15 he was thrown out at the plate as the potential winning run in the tenth inning.42 Two days later he dropped the would-be third out; four runs scored in the inning after the error.43

At the plate, though, Twombly continued to excel; he finished the season with a .377 batting average in 175 at-bats across 31 starts and 56 substitute appearances. Among players with at least 50 plate appearances in the National League, only Rogers Hornsby had a higher batting average. Babe recorded just one home run, however. A lack of power was a shortcoming of his career.

Perhaps surprisingly, 1921 was Twombly’s last season in the majors. In 165 games across two major league seasons, he had a .304 batting average and three home runs in 395 plate appearances. That offseason, the Cubs dealt Twombly to the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The multi-player trade included several players to be named later, but initially saw Elmer Ponder, John Sullivan, and  Twombly being sent to L.A. for pitcher Vic Aldridge and 24-year-old outfielder Arnold “Jigger” Statz.44

The trade provoked a strong reaction back in Boston, where the Globe expressed surprise at Twombly being sent west, and predicted “vain regrets” to come.45 Cubs club secretary John O. Seys spoke highly of the Angels’ new recruit, and said that Twombly’s reputation as a “poor fielder of the fly ball” was unearned and rather a product of the strong and difficult to read winds at Wrigley Field in Chicago.46 Angels manager Red Killefer was confident Twombly would fill the gap left by Statz and declared he would hit well over .300.47

Angels President Joe Patrick had more faith in Statz and bet Cubs and Angels owner William Wrigley Jr. that Statz would outhit Twombly. Come the end of the season a late surge from Twombly meant that he finished 1922 hitting .300 on the nose, while Statz—who was hitting .300 with four games to go—ended up with a .297 average. Patrick lost the bet, and the Angels  missed out on a $10,000 bonus that was due if Statz hit .300.48

After the season, the Los Angeles Times gave Twombly’s season a mixed review, writing that “there were times last season when he seemed about everything that a topnotch player shouldn’t be.” However, in the final month, “despite a certain crude individuality in fielding, Twombly’s hitting, throwing and speed probably made him the league’s outstanding right fielder.”49

Twombly solidified his spot in the Angels outfield in 1923, batting .332 and being the sole lefty on the team not to be platooned against left-handed pitchers.50 Player-manager Marty Krug noted the improvement in the 27-year-old’s game: “He was green and a poor fielding outfielder when he went to the coast. Now his arm is improved, he covers all kind of ground, he could always hit and has developed into a smart baserunner.”51

Perhaps sensing his increased importance to the team, Twombly (along with fellow outfielder Wally Hood) held out for a better contract in 1924. Twombly had also entered the real estate business the previous year—reportedly earning a monthly sum ($3,000) that was greater than his annual baseball salary—giving him an occupational fallback if the ballclub did not meet his contract demands.52 In the meantime, the holdouts played ball for Sawtelle in the Southern California semipro circuit.53 Negotiations on a new deal hit a rough patch when Twombly went to visit team president Patrick on Catalina Island to discuss the salary dispute, only for Patrick to be out all day on other work.54

Angered by the team’s refusal to meet with him, Twombly declared he was ready to quit the game and requested train fare back East for himself and his wife. “When a ball player fails to secure an advance in salary, it is a sign he is standing still,” said Twombly. “When I stop going up the ladder, I am ready to get into something else.”55

The Angels relented and offered Twombly a new contract at a higher salary.56 Although Twombly considered following through on his threat to quit, he eventually signed and joined the club at spring training at Long Beach on March 19.57 Before the season began, he sold his share in the real estate business to former Angels teammate Art Griggs.58

Twombly’s 1924 season was derailed by injuries resulting from an on-field accident on May 11. Chasing after a high fly ball, he collided with center fielder Cedric Durst and was knocked unconscious. He suffered a severe cut above his right eye and was taken to the hospital with a possible skull fracture.59 After a few weeks rest Twombly returned to the lineup, but he struggled with wrist pain for the next two months. An X-ray was ordered and it revealed that he had been playing with a fractured wrist bone sustained in the collision with Durst.60 He was then told to rest so that the joint could heal.61 Twombly sat out most of August but returned as a regular in September.

There was no let-up in Twombly’s ballplaying schedule that winter, as he managed and played center field for the Long Beach club in the All-Professional Winter League.62 When he returned to the Angels in 1925, it was as a center fielder. Early reviews of his fielding were positive and a “seemingly impossible” one-handed catch over his shoulder on April 16 generated a “tumultuous ovation.”63 Nonetheless, in the second half of the season Twombly was back in right field. He finished the season with a team-best .329 batting average (minimum 100 plate appearances).

It was his last year with the Angels. One report called his batting “erratic, and not productive of driving in runs” (Twombly hit just 10 home runs in his four years with Los Angeles).64 The team planned to ship him to the Reading (Pennsylvania) Keystones of the International League but, after receiving a contract offering the same monthly salary as he was earning with the Angels, Twombly held out for more money. Reading called his demands “excessive” — objecting to both his salary demands and request for transportation costs for his family—and a deal was instead arranged with the Seattle Indians, managed by former Angels boss Red Killefer.6566 Twombly’s tenure with the PCL team was not long; in May he was sold to the International League’s Jersey City Skeeters, where he hit .276 in 115 games.

Twombly had evidently acquired a taste for the Southern California weather and traveled back to Los Angeles in the winter, not only to play winter ball for the semipro White King Soap team but also to angle for a return to the PCL.67 His assessment of Jersey City was blunt: “I just don’t want to play there. That’s all and that’s final.”68 A deal was arranged to send Twombly to the Hollywood Stars, who shared Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field with the league rival Angels.69 Twombly played the corner outfield spots for the Stars in 1927 and his statistics were typical: a .309 average, but with no home runs.

Outside of baseball, Twombly was making money selling cast aluminum ware; ahead of the 1928 season he considered whether to return to the sport.70 The 32-year-old was expected to have a utility role on the Stars, but good hitting and a dearth of better options led him to become a regular.71 His final numbers were similar to the previous year’s: he hit for average (.314) but swatted no home runs.

In February 1929, Twombly retired from baseball.72 He was never a power hitter and his fielding and baserunning were questioned at times, but Twombly could always be relied upon to hit for average, although the high run-scoring environment of the PCL played some part in his high batting average in that league.

In advance of his retirement announcement, Twombly had connected with some fellow Lehigh alumni on the west coast, who offered him work with a Los Angeles steel company.73 Twombly worked on the sales end of the business.74 A year later, floodlights were erected at Wrigley Field —Twombly’s home ballpark with the Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars—and the former ballplayer secured the contract for the Pacific Steel Company to supply the steel for the towers.7576

Twombly continued to live in Los Angeles after retiring from baseball. His post-baseball jobs included working for a paper goods company that contracted with his brother George’s business,77 and working as a salesman in the brass industry.78

On June 23, 1930, he appeared in an old-timer’s game at L.A.’s Wrigley Field to raise money for sick and injured ballplayers, the first of many such games he played in.79 In 1950 he participated in a game commemorating the 25th anniversary of the stadium.80 When former teammate Doc Crandall died in 1951, Twombly was a pallbearer along with many other former Pacific Coast players, managers, and other men connected to the league.81

Babe and Elenor had one son, Clarence Edward Twombly III—better known as Tad—who was born on September 2, 1918. Tad studied at UCLA, worked for the C.F. Braun engineering company after graduation, married and had four children of his own.82

Like his father and brother George, Babe raised racing and fancy pigeons. This family hobby was continued by one of Babe’s grandchildren.83

Babe Twombly died on November 23, 1974, in San Clemente, California. Elenor died in 1981, and their son Tad passed away in 2008. All three are buried at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Babe’s headstone features a pair of crossed baseball bats.84

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Dan Schoenholz.

Sources

Sources for the biographical information provided above include family and census records accessed via Familysearch.org; Babe Twombly file maintained at the Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York; statistics from Baseball-Reference.com; George Twombly’s memoir The All American Dropout: And How to Succeed (if Necessary) without a Ph.D.; and various newspaper articles listed in the endnotes.

Notes

1 George Twombly, The All American Dropout: And How to Succeed (if Necessary) without a Ph.D. (self-published, 1966), 1.

2 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 1-2.

3 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 4.

4 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 1-2.

5 “Medford”, Boston Globe, July 9, 1912: 4.

6 “New Rules Will be Tried Out for First Time in Waltham-Marlboro High Game Tomorrow,” Boston Globe, September 13, 1912: 7.

7 “School Elevens Shaping Up for Big Games to Be Played Here,” Boston Globe, November 4, 1912: 7.

8 “Medford High Takes Honors in the Suburban League Meet,” Boston Globe, June 10, 1913: 5.

9 “Notes of School Sports,” Boston Globe, September 24, 1913: 8.

10 “Medford Boy Hurt in Ball Game,” Boston Globe, May 9, 1914: 7.

11 Petree’s first name is spelled Eleanor in some sources, but her gravestone and most official records use the spelling, Elenor.

12 “Lehigh Captain Weds,” Washington (DC) Times, June 4, 1917: 9.

13 “Twombly-Petree Wedding in Philadelphia Today,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal, June 2, 1917: 3.

14 “$100 in Gold for Twombly,” Boston Globe, August 9, 1914: 17.

15 “Review of Baseball Season,” Brown and White, June 8, 1915: 5.

16 “Live Tips and Topics,” Boston Globe, September 11, 1915: 7.

17 “Football Game with Gettysburg,” (Lehigh University) Brown and White, October 29, 1915: 1.

18 “‘Babe’ Twombly Lehigh Captain,” Boston Globe, June 8, 1916: 7.

19 “Baseball Notes,” Boston Globe, July 9, 1916: 17.

20 “Lehigh University Ball Team Enjoys Banquet,” Boston Globe, June 22, 1917: 8.

21 “Twombly-Petree Wedding,” above.

22 “Business Men Hold Meeting,” Brown and White, December 12, 1916: 1.

23 “Senior Thesis,” Brown and White, March 16, 1917: 3.

24 “Senior Degrees Given Tomorrow,” Brown and White, June 8, 1917: 5.

25 “Ogden Loses in Tenth Inning,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Telegraph, June 11, 1917: 10.

26 “Bethlehem Steel Night School Much Enlarged,” Brown and White, October 12, 1917: 2.

27 Wendi Maloney, “Baseball and World War I,” Library of Congress Blogs, September 27, 2018, accessed December 24, 2025, https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/09/baseball-and-world-war-i/.

28 “Steelton Team Wins Pennant in 10th Inning,” Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Evening Report, September 16, 1918: 5.

29 “Fore River Held to One Hit by West Quincy Pitcher,” Boston Globe, July 5, 1919: 6.

30 “Some Old Tri-State Favorites in Bethlehem Steel League Lineup,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Democrat, May 3, 1918: 13.

31 “New Pitcher for Cubs,” Chicago Tribune, February 4, 1920: 15.

32 “Twombly May Hold Outfield Job When Cubs Open Campaign,” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1920: 11.

33 “Robins Have Easy Time,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 16, 1920: 6.

34 I.E. Sanborn, “Errors by Rookies Force Cubs to Extra Inning Defeat, 3 to 2,” Chicago Tribune, July 17, 1920: 7.

35 “Twombly Wasn’t Trying to Pull Any Rough Stuff,” Boston Globe, July 30, 1920: 5.

36 James Crusinberry, “Youngsters of Cubs Show Turn of Speed Signing Contracts,” Chicago Tribune, February 15, 1921: 15.

37 Stathead Baseball Player Batting Streak Stats Finder, Date Accessed: December 24, 2025, https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/UO24Z.

38 Stathead Baseball Player Batting Span Stats Finder, Date Accessed: December 24, 2025, https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/baseball/player-batting-span-finder.cgi.

39 Irving Vaughan, “Twombly’s Day in Boston Park Delayed by Rain,” Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1921: 17.

40 James C. O’Leary, “McQuillan Effective, Vaughan Batted Hard,” Boston Globe, May 17, 1921: 11.

41 James Crusinberry, “One Bad Stumble Beats Cubs, 4-3 in Shivery Game,” Chicago Tribune, June 5, 1921: 17.

42 James Crusinberry, “Hippo’s Pet Jinx Goes 12 Innings to Beat Him, 6-2,” Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1921: 10.

43 James Crusinberry, “Cubs Lean on Lively Ball for 11-10 Triumph,” Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1921: 17.

44 Irving Vaughan, “Veeck Picks Trio of Cubs in Trade for ‘Star’ Statz,” Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1922: 10.

45 James C. O’Leary, “Mystery in Waiver on ‘Babe’ Twombly,” Boston Globe, July 24, 1922: 6.

46 Harry A. Williams, “Sport Shrapnel,” Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1922: 33.

47 “Clarence Twombly Will Hit Away Over .300 in Coast League, Declares Killefer,” Los Angeles Evening Express, April 5, 1922: 38.

48 “Statz Costs L. A. Club $10,000 by Failure to Bat .300; Lacks Four Points,” Los Angeles Record, October 14, 1922: 13.

49 Harry A. Williams, “Sport Shrapnel,” Los Angeles Times, October 17, 1922: 40.

50 “Baseball Chatter,” Sacramento Bee, June 28, 1923: 22.

51 “Dunn Reported Ready to Sell Oriole Stars,” Decatur (Illinois) Herald, December 8: 1923: 12.

52 Abe Kemp, “Red Smith to Quit, Game Is Hard Work,” San Francisco Bulletin, September 10: 18.

53 “Shell Oil Will Play Sawtelle,” Long Beach (California) Telegram, March 8, 1924: 18.

54 “Babe Twombly Has Long Talk with L.A. Head,” Long Beach Telegram, March 11, 1924: 22.

55 “Twombly Quits Angels; Demands Fare Home,” Los Angeles Record, March 18, 1924: 13.

56 “Twombly Quits Angels.”

57 “Shell Oil Team Ready to Take on Angel Men at the Park Saturday,” Long Beach Telegram, March 19, 1924: 25.

58 “Art Griggs Is Now Real Estate Dealer,” Los Angeles Times, April 7, 1924: 42.

59 “Outfielder Twombly Injured in Collision,” Sacramento Bee, May 12, 1924: 17.

60 Stub Nelson, “‘Babe’ Twombly Playing with Bad Wrist,” Los Angeles Evening Express, July 23, 1924: 11.

61 Stub Nelson, “Flychaser Was Sold Without His Consent,” Los Angeles Evening Express, July 29, 1924: 11.

62 Frank T. Blair, “Opening Games of Season Named,” Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, October 24, 1924: 21.

63 Ed Frayne, “Brother Gives Red Wrong Man,” Los Angeles Record, April 17, 1925: 12.

64 “Babe Twombly Released to International Club,” Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, December 30, 1925: 19.

65 “Twombly First Hold-Out in International,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Times, January 16, 1926: 10.

66 “Seattle Buys Outfielder Twombly From Los Angeles,” Seattle Star, January 14, 1926: 15.

67 Matt Gallagher, “Twombly Will Join Coast League Soon,” Los Angeles Evening Express, November 17, 1926: 29.

68 Stub Nelson, “Bill Lane May Land Twombly to Help Stars,” Los Angeles Record, March 29, 1927: 9.

69 R. A. Cronin, “Angels Capture Opener,” Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, April 6, 1927: 22.

70 Bob Ray, “Pick-Ups,” Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1928: 20.

71 Sid Ziff, “The Inside Track,” Los Angeles Evening Express, June 13, 1928: 31.

72 James Mitchell, “Twombly Quits,” Los Angeles Record, February 7, 1929: 9.

73 Matt Gallagher, “Twombly Voluntarily Quits Baseball,” Los Angeles Evening Express, February 7, 1929: 17.

74 James Mitchell, “Angels Also Due for Help from Chicubs,” Los Angeles Record, February 19, 1929: 8.

75 Matt Gallagher, “Gallagher on Baseball”, Los Angeles Evening Express, July 2, 1930: 26.

76 Matt Gallagher, “Night Baseball at Wrigley Field Is Delayed to July 29,” Los Angeles Evening Express, July 11, 1930: 19.

77 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 222.

78 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 6.

79 “‘Old-Timers’ in Ball Tilt Today,” Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, June 23, 1930: 13.

80 Paul Zimmerman, “Sportscripts,” Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1950: 69.

81 “Funeral Rites on Monday,” Sacramento Union, August 19, 1951: 21.

82 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 222, 233.

83 Twombly, The All American Dropout, 6.

84 “Clarence Edward ‘Babe’ Twombly, FindAGrave.com, accessed: December 24, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46305473/clarence-edward-twombly.