Elmer Singleton

Right-hander Elmer Singleton pitched professionally for 23 seasons — more than half of them in the Pacific Coast League, where he won 146 games and once carried a no-hitter into the 13th inning. Over parts of eight major league campaigns with the Boston Braves (1945-1946), Pittsburgh Pirates (1947-1948), Washington Senators (1950), and Chicago Cubs (1957-1959), he compiled an 11-17 record.

Bert Elmer Singleton was born on June 26, 1918, in Ogden, Utah, about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City.1 His parents — Joseph “J.B.” and Sylvia (Richardson) Singleton — had two other sons who survived infancy: Earl was older, Don was younger. The family were Mormons of English descent who lived 10 miles northwest of Ogden in Plain City — “Population 897 when I lived there,” Elmer said.2 His parents lived their entire lives there and engaged in farming.3

Football and basketball were the major sports at Weber County High School, but Elmer had showed promise as an infielder/outfielder playing American Legion baseball in Ogden.4 Following his 1936 graduation, he joined the Plain City club in Weber County’s Farm Bureau League. “One day our pitcher was having trouble, so we swapped places,” he recalled.5

On August 18, 1938, Singleton attended a Cincinnati Reds tryout in Salt Lake City.6 After scout Mickey Shader asked him if he’d like to play baseball for money, Singleton recalled, “I didn’t ask any questions. I signed for $75 a month.”7 Of the 157 hopefuls in attendance that day, he was the only one to be offered a contract.8 In September, Singleton struck out nine of the 11 batters he faced to preserve Plain City’s one-run victory in the final game of the A-division playoffs.9

On January 10, 1939, Elmer married Elsie May Wold, a railroad switchman’s daughter of Norwegian and Scottish heritage. Their union lasted more than 49 years until her 1988 death and produced two sons: Joe and Jerry. That spring, Singleton reported to spring training in Berkeley, California, and made the roster of the Reds’ Ogden-based Class C Pioneer League affiliate. “But when I got to comparing notes, I found I should be getting a little more money. I asked for $100 a month, but [manager] Bill McCorry… refused. I went home.”10

Singleton returned to the Farm Bureau League. Scouts from four big-league teams saw him pitch a seven-inning no-hitter against a team from Malad, Idaho, on July 6, 1939, at a semipro tournament in Brigham City, Utah. Singleton struck out 16 and walloped a grand slam in his 22-0 victory.11 One week later, New York Yankees scouts Bobby Coltrin and Mickey Scanlon signed him.12 In 1940, the 6-foot-2, 174-pounder debuted with the Wenatchee (Washington) Chiefs of the Class B Western International League by going 5-10 with a 7.69 ERA in 36 appearances. He walked 111 batters in 165 innings. “I was listed as a pitcher. It was several years before I lived up to the listing,” Singleton recalled. “I was a fireballer. I could throw a baseball through a brick wall any time I could hit the wall.”13

In 1941, Singleton moved down to the Class C Pioneer League and went 5-3 with a 3.21 ERA in a dozen outings for the Idaho Falls Russets. He battled arm problems and worked only 70 innings.14 That winter, he drove a truck for a defense project’s general depot near Ogden.15

Singleton started 1942 with the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League, then a Class AA circuit. After going 1-2 in six games, he was optioned to the Oklahoma City Indians of the Class A-1 Texas League in June. He went 11-15 to lead that New York Giants farm club in victories and posted a 3.04 ERA in 210 innings. Singleton was returned to the Yankees after the season but, with World War II in full swing, the organization reduced its number of minor league teams from nine to five for 1943. Singleton went on the voluntarily retired list but kept his arm in shape pitching for the Brigham Peaches in the Utah Industrial League.16

In 1944, Singleton returned to the professional ranks. The Kansas City (Missouri) Blues finished last in the Class AA American Association with a 41-110 record, so his marks of 7-11 with a 4.38 ERA in 26 appearances made him one of the team’s better pitchers. On August 19, he was sold to the other top Yankee farm team — the Newark (New Jersey) Bears — to help that club’s pursuit of the Class AA International League pennant.17 Singleton was 0-2 in five regular-season outings, but he pitched a shutout against the Baltimore Orioles in the Governors’ Cup championship series. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster the next day.18 He also started the decisive seventh game but lost, 5-3, after allowing Stan Benjamin’s grand slam and Howie Moss’s solo homer back-to-back in the fifth inning.19

Singleton returned to Kansas City to begin 1945, but he sprained an ankle in May and missed a month.20 He pitched only 17 times (15 starts) but compiled a 7-6, 2.43 record for a sub-.500 team. Five major league clubs were reportedly after him when the Yankees dealt him to the Boston Braves for lefty reliever Charlie Cozart and a reported $35,000 on August 9.21 Arriving in Boston on August 20, he made his big league debut that afternoon at Braves Field, hurling a perfect ninth inning in a 2-0 loss to the Cardinals.22 The next day, he allowed two runs in two innings. On September 1, he lost his first start when the Phillies knocked him out in the fifth inning. Singleton was defeated in his next three starts — in St. Louis, Chicago, and Pittsburgh — but he went seven innings each time and showed improvement. Finally, on September 17 at Crosley Field, he six-hit the Reds for his first big league victory. He was 1-4 with a 4.82 ERA when a broken finger ended his season prematurely.23

Singleton spent most of 1946 with the Braves but he pitched sparingly. He appeared in only 15 games (two starts) — posting marks of 0-1, 3.74 in 33 2/3 innings — before he was optioned to the Indianapolis Indians in the Triple-A American Association on August 14. On September 30, he was traded to the Pirates along with infielder Whitey Wietelmann, outfielder Stan Wentzel, and former All-Star Billy Herman, who became Pittsburgh’s manager. In exchange, the Braves received third baseman Bob Elliott and catcher Hank Camelli. Elliott drove in 113 runs to earn NL MVP honors in 1947.

On April 30, 1947, Singleton debuted for his new team with the Pirates trailing, 4-1, at Philadelphia. He relieved Hugh Mulcahy with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, induced an inning-ending fly out, then departed for a pinch-hitter during Pittsburgh’s four-run rally to seize the lead in the top of the sixth. After the Pirates pulled away to win, 11-4, Singleton expected to be named the winning pitcher. “The beers are on me today, fellows,” he announced in the postgame locker room. “That’s the first game I’ve won for Pittsburgh. I’ll buy Ernie Bonham a couple of beers because he saved the lead for me.”

However, the next day’s newspapers credited Bonham — who’d thrown four scoreless innings — with the victory. After Singleton and some of the Pirates appealed to official scorer Stan Baumgartner, the ruling was changed temporarily, then reversed because it “stirred up too much comment around the circuit.”24 On May 18, Singleton finally notched his first win for Pittsburgh when Frank Gustine’s two-run, walk-off double beat the Giants, 7-6. In 36 appearances (three starts), Singleton finished with a 2-2 record and 6.31 ERA.

After losing 92 games to tie for the NL’s worst record, the Pirates changed managers. When the team arrived in Pittsburgh prior to the 1948 season, new skipper Billy Meyer said, “Forrest Main, Elmer Singleton and Nick Strincevich will be in the bullpen, but either Singleton or Strincevich may be called upon to jump into a starting role. The rest is up to them.”25 Two days before Opening Day, Singleton shut out the Detroit Tigers in an exhibition at Forbes Field.26 In his regular-season debut one week later in Cincinnati, he held the Reds to one hit over the last six innings of a complete-game 7-1 victory. Singleton wound up starting five of his first eight appearances, but he didn’t win any more of them and spent the remainder of the year in the bullpen. Pittsburgh finished in fourth place with a winning record, but Singleton was just 4-6 (4.97) with two saves in his 38 appearances.

Three weeks before the 1949 season opener, the Pirates sold Singleton to the San Francisco Seals of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Although Pittsburgh had already sent pitcher Steve Nagy and catcher Roy Jarvis to San Francisco to complete the previous fall’s trade for Bill Werle, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Singleton was also partial payment for the southpaw.27 In a season and a half with San Francisco, Singleton appeared in 70 games and went 13-24 with a 4.10 ERA. On June 25, 1950, he returned to the majors when he was swapped to the Washington Senators for Nagy, who’d since been drafted by the American League team.

Singleton finished the 1950 season with the fifth-place Senators and made 20 of his 21 appearances in relief. His strongest outing came on August 18 at Fenway Park. After replacing Al Sima to start the fourth inning, Singleton hurled six scoreless frames as Washington battled back from five runs down to tie the score. In the bottom of the 10th, however, he surrendered a game-ending homer to future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr. Overall, Singleton went 1-2 with a 5.20 ERA. Nearly seven years would pass before he pitched in the majors again.

Singleton began the 1951 season in the starting rotation of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a St. Louis Browns affiliate in the Triple-A International League.28 After he went 0-5, 7.15 in 10 appearances, he was optioned to San Francisco in the PCL in June. In 20 appearances (seven starts) for the Seals, Singleton was 5-3, 3.04 as he began using his slider — which he found easier to control — instead of his sinking fastball, as his “out pitch.”29 On August 26 in Sacramento, he allowed a first-inning single to Bob Boyd — but nothing else — in an otherwise perfect seven-inning victory.30 That fall at the minor league convention, San Francisco purchased Singleton’s contract outright from Toronto.31

Following Singleton’s outing on April 24, 1952, Seals manager Tommy Heath said, “That was the best-pitched game I ever saw.” In front of 790 fans at Seals Stadium, Singleton set down the first 18 Sacramento Solons before walking Bob Dillinger to lead off the seventh. That inning ended with Singleton fielding Fuzz White’s slow roller to the third base side of the mound and firing an off-balance throw to first base. Through 12 frames, Singleton still hadn’t allowed any hits, but the game remained scoreless. “He had great stuff,” observed plate umpire Don Silva. “His fastball was good, but his curve was particularly good, and he was hitting the corners of the plate all the time. His control was almost perfect.”32

With one out in the top of the 13th, however, Ed Bockman grounded a sharp single between the shortstop and third baseman. Singleton fell one out short of matching Dick Ward’s 1938 PCL record of 12 2/3 hitless innings.33 White and Johnny Ostrowski followed with two more singles to give Sacramento the lead, and Singleton lost the 1-0 heartbreaker to the Solons’ Jesse Flores.34 Bockman and Ostrowski had been Singleton’s teammates with the Pirates. “I’d taken [Ostrowski] out to lunch that day,” Singleton recalled later. “I should have fed him chicken bones.”35

The Seals had the PCL’s second-worst offense in 1952, and Singleton endured more than three winless weeks with only two runs of support over his 47 innings.36 He built a 7-3 record before losing six of his next eight — with every defeat by a 1-0 or 2-1 score.37 By season’s end, Singleton’s ERA was 2.67 in a career-high 276 innings, and he’d completed 22 starts, but his record was just 17-15. His 170 strikeouts ranked second in the PCL, and his Mother’s Cookies baseball card issued that season featured his nickname, “Smokey” (sic) Singleton. Elmer’s five shutouts, tied for the most in the circuit, included a June 13 one-hitter against the league champion Hollywood Stars in which he surrendered only Tom Saffell’s fourth-inning single.38

In 1953, The Sporting News mentioned Singleton’s “chronic arm trouble” when he left his season debut after just four innings because a forearm muscle knotted up near his elbow.39 By mid-May, he’d already lost four games in which the Seals were shut out.40 It took a five-game winning streak41 to help him even his record at 7-7 with a 1-0 victory over Memo Luna on June 17.42 Singleton was 14-9 at one point but wound up tied for the PCL lead in losses after losing eight of his last nine decisions to finish 15-17, 3.24.43 That winter, he pitched for Gavilanes in the Venezuelan Winter League; going 7-1, 3.66 for a club that finished 10 games under .500.44

San Francisco claimed the last PCL playoff spot in 1954; Singleton’s 13-13, 3.00 marks in 30 regular-season starts included at least three 1-0 defeats.45 He shut out Hollywood in the semifinals to help the Seals reach the championship series, but lost the elimination game to the Oakland Oaks’ Don Ferrarese, 2-0.46 A few weeks later, Singleton was traded to the PCL’s Seattle Rainiers for southpaw Gene Bearden.47

In 1955, Bearden was 8-0 for San Francisco until Singleton outdueled him on June 5.48 Singleton wound up 19-12 as Seattle won the PCL pennant. “The difference lies in pitching for a team that will get some runs for you,” he said.49 His mound work had a lot to do with it, too. In 249 innings, Singleton allowed just 210 hits and posted a 3.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio (150 strikeouts vs. 45 walks). His 2.20 ERA included a league-leading nine shutouts — one of them a seven-inning no-hitter against the San Diego Padres on July 24 that he completed with just 79 pitches.50 That winter, Singleton pitched for the Marianao club in the Cuban League.

Back with Seattle in 1956, Singleton straightened out some early season struggles after watching movies of himself and noticing that he wasn’t bending his pivot leg.51 Some witnesses insisted that he was also throwing spitballs. “Sure, I throw the spitter,” he once said. “At least I want batters to believe I do; it gives them one more thing to worry about when I’m pitching.”52 Years later, two of his Rainiers teammates opened up. Lefthander Art Schallock recalled how Singleton would spit through a space between his front teeth while chewing Juicy Fruit gum. “The pitch before he was going to throw it, he would put spit on the back of his thumb,” explained righty Larry Jansen. “He’d get the ball back and it would be easy to get something off the back of his thumb. He would never go to his mouth or anything.”53

Singleton’s record was 15-5 when he was placed on the disabled list with a sore elbow on August 3.54 After he won his first game back, Seattle GM Dewey Soriano told reporters that Cincinnati Reds GM Gabe Paul had expressed interest in acquiring him after the PCL season concluded.55 Singleton finished 18-8 with a league-best 2.55 ERA — far ahead of teammate Bud Podbielan’s runner-up 3.30 mark. The Reds purchased his contract on October 14. “He’s no youngster. He’s 36 [actually 38] and he’s pitched a lot,” remarked Paul. “But he pitched so ably for Seattle the last two years that he deserves another chance to show he can win on the main line.”56

That chance did not come with the Reds, however. Less than a month later, Cincinnati sent Singleton and third baseman Ray Jablonski to the Chicago Cubs for third baseman Don Hoak, pitcher Warren Hacker, and outfielder Pete Whisenant. Newly hired Cubs manager Bob Scheffing, who’d just skippered the Hollywood Stars to the PCL pennant, was pleased with the trade. “I’m counting on Singleton as a starting pitcher. I tried to get him for the [Hollywood] club for two years,” he said. “He has a good fastball, a curve, and a slider, and he knows how to pitch. I guess major league clubs shied away from him because of his age, but I wouldn’t care if he’s 100 years old if he could win.”57

When Singleton started for the Cubs in Milwaukee on April 23, 1957, it was his first major league appearance in nearly 79 months. He exited with an elbow strain in the fifth inning, however.58 After a pair of relief appearances in mid-May, he lasted four innings in another start against the Braves before his elbow woes flared up again.59 He had surgery in June to remove bone chips and missed the rest of the year other than one September inning.60

Singleton returned to the PCL in 1958 with the Cubs’ Portland Beavers affiliate. After missing three weeks with a sacroiliac injury, he returned to action on May 20 by pitching a six-hit victory and stroking three hits himself.61 Singleton was 13-12, 3.34 for Portland, completing half of his 26 starts and leading the team in wins and innings (197). In September, he made two scoreless relief appearances for the Cubs and won his only decision.

The Cubs’ 1959 season opener at Wrigley Field was postponed, but Singleton was in uniform, shoveling snow alongside teammate Johnny Goryl.62 Singleton appeared only in games that Chicago lost that year, with two exceptions. On May 10 in St. Louis, he was the winning pitcher in the first game of a doubleheader after the Cubs’ Earl Averill hit a game-winning, 11th-inning homer off the Cardinals’ Lindy McDaniel. In the second contest, Singleton was tagged with Chicago’s 8-7 defeat while McDaniel was the winning pitcher. The National League Service Bureau appealed to fans to write if they knew of any other instances where the same two pitchers combined for all four decisions in a twin bill.63

Singleton’s other appearance in a Cubs victory occurred in the second game of a June 7 doubleheader at Pittsburgh. When Scheffing asked him to start because Dave Hillman had injured his thigh two days earlier, Singleton replied, “Hey Skip, what’s the matter — you giving up?” Later, Scheffing explained, “I figured that if Elmer could hold ’em for four or five innings, that’s all we wanted.” As it happened, Singleton shut out the Pirates on three hits before he handed the bullpen a 1-0 lead with one out in the bottom of the eighth. When Scheffing came out to relieve him, Singleton said, “Where have you been? I’ve been expecting you for a long time.” Bill Henry and Don Elston notched the last five outs to preserve the 40-year-old’s final big-league victory. That same day, Singleton reached enough service time to become a vested member of Major League Baseball’s pension fund.64 He had a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings when he was sent down to the Triple-A American Association on August 6 to finish the season with the Fort Worth Cats.

In 1960, Singleton returned to the PCL with the Sacramento Solons and struck out 10 Vancouver Mounties to complete an Opening Day doubleheader sweep.65 Vancouver’s George Bamberger recalled matching up against Singleton later that season, “We knew that if either of us got the decision, we’d reach a combined total of 500 credits in the league, games won and lost. That’s experience.”66 Singleton lost a shutout in the ninth inning on his 42nd birthday but beat Portland to improve his record to 7-3.67 He finished the season with a 14-5 mark and helped the Spokane Indians win the PCL championship after joining them in an August 6 transaction.

Prior to the 1961 season, Singleton was sold to Vancouver.68 He became a player/coach under manager Billy Hitchcock until he was sent back to the Seattle Rainiers in June.69 For the two clubs combined, he was 10-11 in 28 appearances. On Opening Day 1962, Singleton pitched a seven-hitter to lead Seattle to victory over Vancouver.70 His record was 5-2 by June 16, but he wound up 7-9 with a 4.08 ERA in his last 20 professional starts.71 In 1963, Singleton was a Seattle coach under skipper Mel Parnell. He also made six relief appearances and went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings to finish his PCL career with a 146-130 record over parts of 14 seasons.

After three years away from baseball, Singleton returned for one final season in 1967 as the pitching coach for manager Whitey Lockman’s Tacoma Cubs. “Nothing,” Singleton quipped when asked what his duties entailed.72 However, when rookie Chuck Hartenstein joined the Cubs that summer, he credited Singleton for helping him improve his confidence and in-game poise and said, “Be sure to mention how much Fred Martin and Elmer Singleton have helped me. I wouldn’t be here without their help.”73

Singleton went back to Utah, where he described his offseason occupation as a carpenter-salesman on a late-career questionnaire.74 In 1984, he became a Utah Sports Hall of Fame honoree.75

Elmer Singleton was 77 when he died in Ogden on January 5, 1996. He is buried in Plain City Cemetery.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Norman Macht and fact checked by Terry Bohn.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.ancestry.com, www.baseball-reference.com and www.retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Singleton’s birth year was often listed as 1920 during his baseball career, but he was already two that year according to the United States Census.

2 Jack Hawkins, “Elmer Singleton Stays with Seattle, But in New Capacity,” Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, February 14, 1963: 23.

3 “Plain City Pair Notes 60th Anniversary Date,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, September 23, 1970: 12.

4 Elmer Singleton, Pacific Coast League Baseball Questionnaire, 1960.

5 Hawkins, “Elmer Singleton Stays with Seattle, But in New Capacity.”

6 “Young Ball Adepts Strut Stuff Before Big League Scouts,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, August 18, 1938: 9.

7 John Mooney, “Sport Mirror,” Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, July 13, 1958: 26.

8 “55 Will Seek Ogden Berths,” Post-Register (Idaho Falls, Idaho), March 23, 1939: 12.

9 “Plain City, Pleasant View Take Gonfalons,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, September 25,1938: 7.

10 Mooney, “Sport Mirror.”

11 “Plain City Defeats Malad,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 7, 1939: 10.

12 Mooney, “Sport Mirror.”

13 Hawkins, “Elmer Singleton Stays with Seattle, But in New Capacity.”

14 “Pioneer League,” The Sporting News, August 14, 1941: 11.

15 “Hornell No Stranger to O.B.” The Sporting News, November 27, 1941: 17.

16 “Peaches Expect to Win 2nd Half Baseball Honors,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 14, 1943: 13.

17 “International League,” The Sporting News, August 24, 1944: 24.

18 Cy Kritzer, “Orioles, Bears Stage Nip-Tuck Bout in Finals,” The Sporting News, October 5, 1944: 32.

19 Jack Carpenter, “New Park, Big Turnouts Spark Orioles to Flag,” The Sporting News, October 12, 1944: 21.

20 “Kansas City,” The Sporting News, June 21, 1945: 20.

21 Mooney, “Sport Mirror.”

22 “Pirates Buy Edson Bahr,” The Sporting News, August 30, 1945: 16.

23 Jack Malaney, “Hub Clubs Just Limping Home,” The Sporting News, September 27, 1945: 9.

24 Les Biederman, “Singleton –Bonham –Singleton –Bonham, Who Was the Winner?” The Sporting News, July 23, 1947: 36.

25 Les Biederman, “Gregg Needs Pat on Back,” The Sporting News, April 28, 1948: 10.

26 Les Biederman, “Bucs-Tigers Split Two-Game Series,” The Sporting News, April 28, 1948: 34.

27 John Mooney, “Sports Mirror,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 5, 1949: 26.

28 Cy Kritzer, “Powerized Orioles Pack Threat in Int,” The Sporting News, April 18, 1951: 18.

29 Lenny Anderson, “Singleton’s Solution for Victory — ‘Club That Gets You Some Runs’,” The Sporting News, July 6, 1955: 23.

30 “Near Perfect Game by Seal Hurler Mars Gordon Night,” The Sporting News, September 5, 1951: 25.

31 “Columbus Business in Brief,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1951: 16.

32 James K. McGee, “‘Best-pitched Game at Seal Park’ Heartbreak Loss for Singleton,” The Sporting News, May 7, 1952: 23.

33 McGee, “‘Best-pitched Game at Seal Park’ Heartbreak Loss for Singleton.”

34 “Singleton Hurls a 12-inning No-Hitter, Defeated in 13th,” The Sporting News, April 30, 1952: 24.

35 Dennis Snelling, The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League 1903-1957, (MacFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2011): 250.

36 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, May 28, 1952: 30.

37 Anderson, “Singleton’s Solution for Victory — ‘Club That Gets You Some Runs’.”

38 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, May 25, 1952: 30.

39 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, April 15, 1953: 44.

40 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, May 27, 1953: 24.

41 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, June 27, 1953: 32.

42 “Padres Apply for New Visa for Luna After Border Jam,” The Sporting News, July 2, 1953: 23.

43 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, September 23, 1953: 26.

44 Elmer Singleton’s Venezuelan League statistics from https://www.pelotabinaria.com.ve/beisbol/tem_equ.php?TE=1953-54&EQ=GAV (last accessed August 4, 2021).

45 “San Francisco,” The Sporting News, August 18, 1954: 36.

46 “Playoffs,” The Sporting News, September 29, 1954: 44.

47 “Deals of the Week,” The Sporting News, October 20, 1954: 28.

48 “Bearden Handed First Loss; Yankees Scouting Seal Lefty,” The Sporting News, June 15, 1955: 28.

49 Anderson, “Singleton’s Solution for Victory — ‘Club That Gets You Some Runs’.”

50 Lenny Anderson, “Three No-Hitters in One Week -Piktuzis, Singleton and Van Cuyk,” The Sporting News, August 3, 1955: 23.

51 “Seattle,” The Sporting News, June 20, 1956: 32.

52 John Mooney, “This Ain’t the Weather to Expose Spitballers,” Salt Lake Tribune, August 21, 1971: 37.

53 Snelling, The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League 1903-1957: 260.

54 “Seattle,” The Sporting News, August 15, 1956: 28.

55 “Seattle,” The Sporting News, August 29, 1956: 26.

56 Tom Swope, “Gabe Willing to ‘Go High’ to Back Reds’ Power with Good Pitching,” The Sporting News, October 24, 1956: 11.

57 John C Hoffman, “Jablonski to Supply Righthanded Power,” The Sporting News, November 21, 1956: 16.

58 “Rig Bolts Doors Despite Win,” The Sporting News, May 1, 1957: 28.

59 Ed Prell, “Drott’s Strikeout Pitch Dazzles Weary Cub Fans,” The Sporting News, June 5, 1957: 18.

60 “Seattle,” The Sporting News, July 24, 1957: 28.

61 “Portland,” The Sporting News, June 4, 1958: 28.

62 “Season’s Greetings at Cubs’ Field,” The Sporting News, April 22, 1959: 19.

63 “N.L. Asks Fans of Nation to Help Check on Oddity,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1959: 21.

64 Jerry Holtzman, “Scheffing Finds New Cub Starter in Vet Singleton,” The Sporting News, June 17, 1959: 25.

65 “Pacific Coast League,” The Sporting News, April 27, 1960: 33.

66 Joseph Durso, “Major Changes in the Road to Big Leagues,” New York Times, June 6, 1983: C1.

67 “Tribe Tomahawks Chill Padres,” The Sporting News, July 13, 1960: 46.

68 “Player Transactions,” The Sporting News, March 1, 1961: 25.

69 “Coast Cast,” The Sporting News, May 3, 1961: 31.

70 Hy Zimmerman, “Islanders Ring Up PCL Curtain with Top Crowd, 9,615,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1962: 33.

71 “Coast Clippings,” The Sporting News, June 30, 1962: 30.

72 “Singleton Sets the Style for Short, Snappy Quips,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1967: 34.

73 Jerome Holtzman, “Cubs’ Twiggy Bends Batters Around Finger,” The Sporting News, July 15, 1967: 10.

74 Singleton, Pacific Coast League Baseball Questionnaire.

75 “Hall of Fame Honorees,” https://www.utahsportshalloffame.org/honorees-hall-of-fame-induction/hall-of-fame-1980s/ (last accessed August 5, 2021).