Mort Flohr

Two injuries defined Mort Flohr’s pitching career—one wildly exaggerated, the other all too real.

Flohr, fresh out of Duke University and pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics, hit Babe Ruth on the wrist with his very first major-league pitch on June 8, 1934. Sportswriters inflated the event in later retellings: One account had the young left-hander almost killing baseball’s most beloved player with a high and tight pitch, while others had him breaking Ruth’s wrist and knocking Ruth out of the lineup for weeks.1 In reality, Ruth suffered only a bruise and was back in the lineup two days later.

After several more promising appearances, Flohr was making a routine fielding play later that season when something popped in his left shoulder. He rapidly lost effectiveness, and his big-league career ended after 15 games (14 as a pitcher), all in 1934. Flohr went back to his hometown and eventually became a tavernkeeper, patiently answering questions until the end of his long life about the time he hit Babe Ruth with a pitch.

***

Moritz Herman “Mort” Flohr was born on August 15, 1911, in Canisteo, New York, a town of about 3,440 people a few miles south of Hornell in the state’s Southern Tier.2 He was the third child and first son of Walter and Anna (Swarthout) Flohr.3 Mort’s German ancestry later inspired the nickname “Dutch.”4 Other names he was given included “Flossie” and, colorfully, “the Flemish Fireball.”5

The Flohr family was well-known in Canisteo’s business community as the longtime operators of a tannery; Walter Flohr was still involved in the tanning business during his son’s early boyhood.6 By the early 1930s, Walter had opened a gas station and a bar and grill on the former tannery property on East Main Street.7 The latter business, known as Flohr’s Tavern, became particularly successful. 

Overcoming a broken wrist in his preteen years, Mort grew into a talented athlete.8 He spent his first two years of high school in Canisteo, then decamped to Randolph-Macon Military Academy in Virginia, where he excelled on the basketball court as well as the baseball diamond.9 He also pitched for Hornell- and Canisteo-based amateur teams over several summers.10

Flohr’s athletic skill led him to Duke, where he drew mention as a promising basketballer on the school’s freshman hoops team.11 (His adult height and weight, incidentally, were 6 feet even and 173 pounds.12) But Duke baseball coach gave Flohr a tryout, and from then on he did his playing on the mound, earning a scholarship as a pitcher.13

Editions of Duke’s Chanticleer yearbook from the early ’30s, along with news stories, recorded Flohr as a solid contributor capable of “brilliant” performances, such as a six-hit complete game win over Wake Forest University in 1934.14 Flohr celebrated his Duke debut by throwing six innings of no-hit ball in relief against Elon College, walking four and striking out nine.15 In another outing, Flohr threw a five-hit shutout and struck out 11 batters against Virginia Military Institute.16

According to contemporary reports, Flohr posted a record of 12-6 for his career at Duke, with all of his losses coming in one-run decisions.17 His last college team, in 1934, posted “the greatest campaign in Duke baseball history” with a 20-4 record, though Flohr lost a 4-3 decision to the University of North Carolina near season’s end that helped squash Duke’s hopes of winning the Southern Conference.18 Although his college career was a success, Flohr later told a reporter he’d suffered from arm trouble while at Duke; whether that had any direct bearing on his later injury is unknown.19

Duke baseball coach Coombs had played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1906 to 1914 and remained close with Connie Mack, the team’s manager and majority owner, routing numerous players Mack’s way.20 Coombs recommended Flohr to Mack, who signed the pitcher and brought him directly from Duke to the majors.21 “The absence of left-handers on the Athletic staff this year indicates Flohr has a sweet niche with the A’s, provided he shows anything at all,” a Washington Times sportswriter declared.22

On June 8, Mack called the 23-year-old prospect to the mound for the first time to pitch the sixth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. The seventh-place Athletics entered the game with an 18-26 record, eight games out of first place. On this day they were losing 8-0 and hadn’t mustered a hit. Ruth, 2-for-3 to that point, led off.

Flohr threw a sidearm curve that rode in on lefthanders—but his first curve to Ruth sailed too far inside, nailing Ruth on the right wrist.23 Knocked to the ground in pain, Ruth arose without saying a word to Flohr and walked to first, where Sammy Byrd took his place.24 Years later, Flohr insisted that he had no intention of hitting Ruth, and claimed the 39-year-old slugger hadn’t made an effort to get out of the way: “Ruth was near the end of his career, and his reflexes weren’t very good. He just stood there and never moved a muscle.”25

Worse was to come. The next hitter, Lou Gehrig, homered to right. After Flohr got two outs, he surrendered a double to Bill Dickey and a single to Frank Crosetti to raise the score to 11-0. In the seventh and eighth, Flohr gave up a single and a walk, but no further runs in a game that ended 11-4.26 Flohr took a no-decision but was saddled with a legend that would never entirely leave him. The New York Post described him as “a strange young man named Mort Flohr.” A year later, the same paper called him “Mort Flohr, the bone-breaker” who had “nearly severed Babe Ruth’s wrist.”27

Flohr’s next eight outings suggested he had more to offer than he’d shown the Yankees. In seven relief appearances and one start, he worked 20⅔ innings in which he surrendered 19 hits and seven earned runs, for an ERA of 3.05.28

Control was a problem: Flohr walked 15 batters against one strikeout and threw four wild pitches.29 But opposing teams couldn’t turn those opportunities into runs, and Flohr kept the other team off the scoreboard in five of the games.30 After a start against Detroit on July 21, future Hall of Famer Goose Goslin confided to a Philadelphia sportswriter, “That fellow Flohr has stuff and ought to be a real pitcher in a year.”31

Then, the young hurler got hurt. Decades later, Flohr remembered the fateful play happening near the end of the season, on a cold, rainy day. An opposing batter chopped a grounder to the third-base side of the mound. Flohr picked up the ball, threw off-balance to first, and felt a pop in his left shoulder. “My spikes caught in the sod and my arm went with the ball,” he recalled near the end of his life.32

A review of Flohr’s game log suggests the injury might actually have taken place during a start against the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland on July 25, 1934.33 Through three innings, Flohr had surrendered three walks and a single, but no runs. He handled three fielding chances in the third, a bunt by Oral Hildebrand and grounders by Bob Seeds and Joe Vosmik, turning all three into outs. In the fourth, Flohr retired the leadoff man, then walked four straight batters and was removed.34 By the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s telling, he threw just two strikes in 18 deliveries in the fourth.35

This game started a sharp downturn in Flohr’s performance. From July 25 through the end of the season, Flohr pitched seven innings across five games, giving up 11 hits and 17 walks against four strikeouts. He surrendered 10 earned runs for an ERA of 12.86 during this stretch. Accentuating his fall from grace, Flohr was given the start in an exhibition game against the Newark Bears of the International League on August 31. He gave up 13 hits and five walks and was left in to go the distance in a 13-2 pasting.36

Flohr was a decent hitter in a small sample size, posting a .333 mark in 12 career at-bats. Mack used him as a pinch-hitter for fellow pitcher Whitey Wilshere in a game against the Boston Red Sox on September 1. Flohr struck out against right-hander Johnny Welch.

Flohr made his final big-league appearance on September 14, in the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns. He allowed three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning, allowing an inherited runner to score and being touched for a run himself.37 Flohr closed the season, and his big-league career, with an 0-2 record and a 5.87 ERA across 30⅔ innings. He averaged 9.7 walks per nine innings pitched, and his four wild pitches were second on the Athletics’ staff.38

The Athletics released Flohr in February 1935, and he signed with the Charlotte Hornets of the Class B Piedmont League.39 He struggled in the preseason, including in an exhibition against the newly Ruth-free Yankees on April 11. Working the ninth inning, he gave up six runs on three hits, three walks, and a wild pitch, also committing a throwing error.40

The Hornets tried to hastily convert Flohr into a first baseman. The experiment failed: “Flohr has played even better than counted upon, but he is shaky. A shaky first baseman won’t do,” the Charlotte Observer assessed.41 After a few pitching appearances with mixed results, the Hornets released him in late May.42 Flohr spent the remainder of the summer pitching for the Forest City (North Carolina) Owls of the Western Carolina League.43

Off the field, Flohr and a woman identified as 21-year-old Patricia Hannon of Corning, New York, had obtained a marriage license in February 1934.44 Her last name was actually Hannan, and she came from a prominent family in Ogdensburg, New York, where her grandfather had been the mayor and a successful businessman.45 The Flohrs were married in February 1935.46 They became parents in August 1936, welcoming a son who was also named Moritz and known as Morty or Mort Jr.47

In the summer of 1936, Flohr was reportedly working in the oil industry but planning a baseball comeback.48 He gave pitching a last shot the following season with the Ottawa Braves of the Class C Canadian-American League. The Braves, a last-place team, went 32-75;49 Flohr contributed a 1-5 record and 11.96 ERA in six appearances, mostly in relief. His lone victory marked a momentary return to his college form, as he pitched a six-hit complete game against the Rome Colonels on May 25, striking out 10 against three walks.50 Flohr was released on June 22, ending his baseball career before his 26th birthday.51

The 1940 Census found Flohr, Patricia, and three-year-old Mort Jr. in Canisteo. The elder Flohr was working 60 hours a week as a waiter in a restaurant, presumably his family’s.52 Back in Philadelphia, Flohr had become a punchline, evoked by Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Cy Peterman along with other pitchers who had washed out of Mack’s woebegone team due to injury and/or lack of talent.53

Around that time, Flohr’s life turned tumultuous. Flohr and Patricia had a second child, daughter Helen, in 1940; unfortunately, the child died shortly after birth.54 At some point between 1941 and 1943, the couple divorced.55 Flohr moved to Schenectady, New York, near Albany, where he took war-related work with General Electric.56 While there, he remarried to Agnes Latkowski of Schenectady and declared bankruptcy, listing $2,909 in debts and no assets.57 He also played basketball on a YMCA-league team called the Big Five, where his teammates included future Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Hein.58

This unsettled period passed after a few years, and Flohr’s life stabilized again. Flohr and Agnes remained married for more than 40 years.59 The couple moved back to Canisteo shortly before the death of Walter Flohr in January 1946.60 Mort Flohr took over management of the family’s tavern, and for many years, his appearances in print media traced the life of a small-town restaurateur—applying annually for a liquor license; pressing charges against a customer who passed a fraudulent check; taking an ad in Canisteo’s high school yearbook to advertise the tavern’s hamburgers.61 He was also noted as a deer hunter and bowler.62

Flohr briefly regained national attention in the fall of 1968, when Baseball Hall of Fame historian and The Sporting News columnist Lee Allen came to his tavern and wrote a column about the visit. Allen’s timing was opportune: Flohr had been hospitalized with pneumonia and other serious health issues that summer and had taken three months away from the business.63 Allen reported that Flohr was “an incurable fan” who still watched baseball on TV. He also quoted Flohr as saying, “Everybody in town knows about my first pitch, and I still get kidded about it.”64

In October 1974, Flohr sold the tavern and retired at age 63.65 The Flohrs moved to Edenton, North Carolina, four years later to be closer to Mort Jr., who was suffering from health problems. A news story about Flohr’s move mentioned that he was still a passionate fan who had watched all six games of the recently completed 1978 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. “[Baseball] gets in your blood,” he said.66

The Flohrs returned to central New York in their last years; Agnes died at their home in Canisteo in 1987 following a period of illness.67

In 1992, a reporter caught up with Mort, who was living in a nursing home in Hornell. He recounted the Ruth story once again and shared other memories, including praise for former teammate Jimmie Foxx. “I think Jimmie was about the best ballplayer I ever saw,” Flohr said. “And he was a very friendly guy. He helped me a lot. Gave good pointers while I was pitching, how to pitch to a certain batter, stuff like that.” Playing in the major leagues was “quite an experience,” he added. “Things you don’t forget all your life. It seems like it was yesterday to me.”68

Mort Flohr died in Hornell on June 2, 1994, at age 82.69 It was 60 years to the week since he’d hit Babe Ruth with a pitch, and he was the second-to-last living participant of that long-ago game.70 His newspaper obituary, perhaps granting him a degree of mercy at last, said only that he had “pitched to such baseball greats as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”71

Flohr was survived by his son, a sister living at the same care facility, a niece, and two nephews. After a Mass at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Hornell, he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Canisteo.72

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Bill Lamb and checked for accuracy by members of SABR’s factchecking team. The author thanks the Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for research assistance.

Sources

In addition to the sources credited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference and Retrosheet for background information on games, players, and seasons.

Notes

1 Associated Press, “Southpaw Weighs Comeback,” Buffalo Evening News, June 30, 1936: 24; Dan Parker, “The Broadway Bugle,” Honolulu (Hawaii) Advertiser, March 29, 1945: 10; Gene Lawing, “Hornets of 1935,” Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, April 29, 1935: 10.

2 As of January 2026, Flohr was the only player, manager, coach, or umpire in Retrosheet to have Canisteo listed as his or her birthplace. The name Canisteo is used both for a town in Steuben County, New York, and for a village within the town where much of the town’s population is clustered. Population information from the 1910 US Census, “1910 Census: Volume 3. Population, Reports by States, with Statistics for Counties, Cities, and Other Civil Divisions: Nebraska-Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico”: 204, accessed online in July 2026, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/volume-3/volume-3-p3.pdf.

3 1920 US Census listing for Walter Flohr and family, accessed January 2026 via Familysearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVSN-KL6?lang=en; “Wedding at Canisteo,” Elmira (New York) Daily Gazette and Free Press, October 14, 1898: 8.

4 The 1920 US Census, cited above, reported that Flohr’s paternal grandparents were both German speakers – one born in Germany, the other Canada. A few examples of Flohr being called “Dutch” in print include “Deacons Beat Carolina; Battle Duke Here for Title,” Durham (North Carolina) Morning Herald, May 17, 1932: 6; “Duke Will Start Baseball Today,” Raleigh (North Carolina) News and Observer, April 1, 1933: 7; and Kirk Miller, “McLarnin, Ross Excite Type of Interest Dempsey Held,” Washington (District of Columbia) Times, May 26, 1934: 15.

5 “Carolina Gets Revenge and ‘Big 5’ Title from Duke,” (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) Daily Tar Heel, May 22, 1934: 3; “Duke Sweeps Both Ends of Doubleheader from Gamecocks,” Columbia (South Carolina) Record, April 3, 1934: 8.

6 1920 US Census, cited above; “Wedding at Canisteo”; “Canisteo Tannery Property Sold to Flohr Brothers,” Canisteo (New York) Times, November 10, 1920: 1.

7 The 1930 US Census listing for Walter Flohr and family, accessed via Familysearch.org in January 2026 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4Y3-RYB?lang=en), lists Walter’s occupation as owner of a “gasoline filling station.” Walter was in the restaurant business at least as early as June 1933, when a local news story cited him receiving approval to sell 3.2-percent beer. “Beer Board Works on 3.2 Licenses,” Corning (New York) Evening Leader, June 15, 1933: 14. 

8 Flohr broke his right (non-throwing) wrist in the fall of 1923, aged 12. “21 Years Ago in Canisteo,” Canisteo Times, October 5, 1944: 7.

9  “‘Morty’ Flohr Receives Award as Ball Pitcher,” Hornell (New York) Evening Tribune-Times, April 14, 1931: 6.

10 In one such game, he suffered a broken cheekbone from a foul tip while at the plate. “Almond Scores Win Over Hornell Team,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, July 5, 1933: 16. An earlier example of a summer game found Flohr splitting his time between the mound and first base: “Hammondsport Beats Canisteo Nine 13-4,” Corning Evening Leader, August 1, 1928: 9.

11 Flohr was one of a list of freshman basketball players identified as future varsity contributors in Duke’s 1931 Chanticleer yearbook: 181. Yearbook accessed in January 2026 via the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/chanticleerseria1931duke/page/180/mode/2up.

12 “Major League Rosters: Philadelphia Athletics,” Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), April 2, 1935: 15.

13 “‘Morty’ Flohr Receives Award as Ball Pitcher.” Subsequent editions of the Duke Chanticleer yearbook from Flohr’s years there do not mention him playing basketball.

14 Associated Press, “Blue Devils Even Series by Taking One from Wolves,” Salisbury (North Carolina) Sunday Post, May 1, 1932: 10; “Moritz Flohr Permits Wake Six Bingles,” Durham Morning Herald, May 15, 1934: 8.

15 “Duke Will Face Delaware Squad,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal, April 5, 1932: 11. The starter in the game, Tim McKeithan, also went from Duke to the Philadelphia Athletics.

16 Associated Press, “Flohr Fans 11 Cadets as Duke Gets 11-0 Win,” Raleigh News and Observer, April 16, 1932: 7.

17 Associated Press, “Trio N.C. Baseball Stars Get Chances in Major Leagues,” Salisbury Evening Post, May 25, 1934: 7.

18 “Baseball,” 1935 Duke University Chanticleer yearbook, accessed via the Internet Archive in July 2026, https://archive.org/details/chanticleerseria1935duke/page/248/mode/2up?q=flohr.

19 John Nelson, “As We See It,” Hornell Evening Tribune, June 29, 1973: 8.

20 Duke players who leaped to the Athletics’ roster in the 1930s included pitchers Flohr, Tim McKeithan, Bobby Coombs, Pete Naktenis, and Dave Smith; pitcher and first baseman Chubby Dean; catcher Hal Wagner; infielders Wayne Ambler and Ace Parker; and outfielder Eric Tipton.

21 Associated Press, “A’s Sign Duke Hurler,” Buffalo Evening News, June 2, 1934: 1.

22 Miller, “McLarnin, Ross Excite Type of Interest Dempsey Held.” Of the 15 pitchers who appeared for the Athletics in 1934, only two were lefties—Flohr and Whitey Wilshere.

23 Roger Neumann, “Flohr’s Unforgettable Debut,” Hornell Evening Tribune, October 20, 1978: 7.

24 Nelson, “As We See It”; Harold Burr, “‘Boy, Can I Hit!’ Warbles Gomez, Indifferent to Pitching Successes,” New York Post, June 9, 1934: 13.

25 Nelson; Neumann. At least one contemporary news story describes Ruth as trying to duck out of the way of the ball: “Babe Ruth Painfully Injured When Hit on Arm by Pitched Ball,” New York American, June 9, 1934: 23.

26 Byrd might have done Flohr a favor in the seventh, being thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double.

27 Burr, “‘Boy, Can I Hit!’ Warbles Gomez, Indifferent to Pitching Successes”; “Mack Unmoved Because Terry Picks Indians,” New York Post, April 12, 1935: 19.

28 A search of this span of games on Retrosheet does not show any occasions on which Flohr was removed with runners on base and was bailed out by his successor. On the contrary, Flohr had two earned runs added to his stat line on July 6 when teammate Wilshere replaced him and allowed two inherited runners to score.

29 Flohr never hit another batsman after plunking Ruth.

30 Flohr posted an 0-1 record over this span of eight games. On July 21, his only start during this span, he worked six innings and took a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Flohr allowed six hits and five walks, threw a wild pitch, and did not strike out a batter. He surrendered three runs, two of which were earned.

31 James C. Isaminger, “Tips from the Sport Ticker,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 5, 1934: Sports:6.

32 This account of Flohr’s injury is combined from two post-career interviews with him, which vary slightly on details but agree on the basics: Neumann, “Flohr’s Unforgettable Debut,” and David Wheeler, “A Year with Mack, Foxx and the Philly A’s,” Hornell Evening Tribune, June 8, 1992: 7.

33 In “A Year with Mack, Foxx and the Philly A’s,” Flohr recalled the injury happening against the Washington Nationals. Flohr’s next start, on August 1, came against Washington, but the play-by-play information on Retrosheet does not indicate that he had any fielding chances in his inning-plus of work.

34 Reliever Joe Cascarella got Flohr off the hook by stranding all three inherited runners. Cascarella went on to take the loss in an 8-3 defeat.

35 “As Tribe Continues Hitting Streak,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 26, 1934: 14. Incidentally, the Plain Dealer on this date mentions a statewide heat wave but makes no mention of rain.

36 “Athletics Prove Soft for Newark in Night Tilt,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 1, 1934: 13.

37 Roy Mahaffey, who relieved Flohr with the bases loaded, escaped the jam without allowing any additional runs.

38 Roy Mahaffey, who led the team with six wild pitches, worked 129 innings, about four times as many as Flohr.

39 James C. Isaminger, “Mack Believes His Team Has the Stuff,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 17, 1935: Sports:2; Chauncey Durden, “New Hornet,” Charlotte (North Carolina) News, February 17, 1935: 1C.

40 Hayti Thompson, “Combs, Crosetti and Lazzeri Slug Hard; Gehrig Fails to Hit,” Charlotte Observer, April 12, 1935: 2:1. Ruth had been released by the Yankees in late February, signing with the Boston Braves for a final season.

41 Jake Wade, “Two Strange Gents in Our Office,” Charlotte Observer, April 28, 1935: 13. Charlotte sportswriters referred to Flohr as “a converted pitcher” as early as April 17, in Wade Ison, “Bees in Final Exhibition Here Tomorrow,” Charlotte News, April 17, 1935: 14. Other articles indicate that Flohr was suffering from an injured thumb during his infield tryout, including Jake Wade, “Jake Wade’s Sports Parade,” Charlotte Observer, May 5, 1935: 13.

42 On May 8, Flohr was pulled from a start after walking the first four hitters. He was released 10 days later. John Oliver, “Texan’s Blow in the Ninth Wins Over Hornets,” Richmond (Virginia) News Leader, May 9, 1935: 26; Wade Ison, “Hornets Return Home from Fine Road Trip,” Charlotte Observer, May 20, 1935: 6.

43 “Flohr Hurls Owls to Win,” Charlotte Observer, June 5, 1935: 2:2; “Cee-Cees Win, 4-3,” Hickory (North Carolina) Daily Record, July 19, 1935: 10; Mack McKa, “I Saw Today,” Hickory Daily Record, August 30, 1935: 10.

44 Marriage license for Moritz H. Flohr and Patricia Hannon, accessed via FamilySearch.org in June 2026, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKN1-X7VH?lang=en. Interestingly, Flohr’s occupation is given as “clerk.”

45 “Miss Patricia Hannan Bride,” Watertown (New York) Daily Times, June 26, 1935: 3.

46 “Miss Patricia Hannan Bride” says the Flohrs were married “last Feb. 9.” Two news items from late 1934 mention Patricia Hannan visiting Flohr as a guest, suggesting they were not married at that time. “Social and Personals,” Ogdensburg (New York) Journal, November 27, 1934: 12; “Social and Personals,” Ogdensburg Journal, December 6, 1934: 4.

47 Findagrave.com entry for Moritz Herman “Mort” Flohr Jr., accessed June 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/279633019/moritz-hannon-flohr.

48 Associated Press, “Diamond Dream,” Rochester (New York) Journal, June 29, 1936: 15.

49 With three ties.

50 Tommy Shields, “Braves Score Season’s First Victory,” Ottawa Evening Citizen, May 26, 1937: 10.

51 Bill Westwick, “Leslie’s Two Homers Give Colts 8-0 Victory over Braves,” Ottawa Journal, June 23, 1937: 20.

52 1940 US Census listing accessed in January 2026 via Familysearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQYT-34B?lang=en.

53 Cy Peterman, “Little Red Riding Hood Must Scout for the A’s,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 4, 1939: 23; Cy Peterman, “Dizzy Dean a Southpaw? Now There Is an Idea!,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 15, 1940: 19.

54 “Flohrs Have Daughter,” Watertown Daily Times, August 7, 1940: 12; “Infant Daughter Dies,” Watertown Daily Times, August 21, 1940: 12.

55 Research for this biography did not find a record with a specific date for the Flohrs’ divorce. A news item from July 1941 indicates that they were still married at that time: “Ogdensburg Personals,” Watertown Daily Times, July 16, 1941: 12. Patricia’s newspaper obituary confirms that she and Mort divorced but does not give a date: “Patricia Sargent Dead at Age 64,” Watertown Daily Times, March 27, 1979: 26.

56 Wheeler, “A Year with Mack, Foxx and the Philly A’s.”

57 Research for this biography did not find a record with a specific date for Flohr’s marriage to Agnes. The earliest print reference to their marriage is “Zigmund Latkowski” (obituary), Schenectady (New York) Gazette, November 20, 1943: 2. Bankruptcy information from “Bankruptcies,” Albany (New York) Times-Union, October 29, 1943: 19.

58 “Ketchums Play Big Five at JCC Tomorrow,” Schenectady Gazette, February 10, 1945: 14.

59 “Agnes L. Flohr” (obituary), Hornell Evening Tribune, May 11, 1987: 12.

60 Agnes Flohr’s obituary, cited above, listed her as a Canisteo resident since 1945, and Walter Flohr’s obituary in January 1946 said his son was a Canisteo resident at that time. “Deaths,” Canisteo Times, January 10, 1946: 5.

61 Legal advertisement, Hornell Evening Tribune, October 10, 1961: 10; “Two Pay Fines in Canisteo,” Hornell Evening Tribune, November 27, 1965: 3; 1958 Canisteo Central School Kanistean yearbook: 76 (accessed via the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/kanistean1958cani/page/76/mode/2up).

62 “Clerk Issues 750 Hunting Licenses,” Hornell Evening Tribune, November 27, 1950: 2; John Nelson, “As We See It,” Hornell Evening Tribune, September 8, 1971: 14.

63 Lee Allen, “One Pitch the Babe Couldn’t Hit,” The Sporting News, November 2, 1968: 28. Flohr was admitted to St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell on the weekend of June 15-16, 1968, and was discharged on or around July 1. “Hornell Hospital Notes,” Corning Leader, June 17, 1968: 6; “Hornell Hospital Notes,” Hornell Evening Tribune, July 2, 1968: 3. Allen, meanwhile, died the following May of a heart attack.

64 Allen.

65 “Tavern to Reflect Railroad Heritage,” Hornell (New York) Sunday Spectator, November 17, 1974: 3B.

66 Neumann, “Flohr’s Unforgettable Debut.”

67 “Agnes L. Flohr.”

68 Wheeler, “A Year with Mack, Foxx and the Philly A’s.”

69 “Moritz H. Flohr” (obituary), Hornell Evening Tribune, June 3, 1994: 6.

70 Flohr was outlived only by Yankees third baseman Frank Crosetti, who died in February 2002.

71 “Moritz H. Flohr.”

72 “Moritz H. Flohr”; Findagrave.com entry for Moritz Flohr, accessed June 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46164344/moritz-herman-flohr.