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SC—July 15, 1962Sunday Catrll^Mail—-pvinm w*w vir»ne—(jJslL UihqiniaX.(pJwmiuu^ 'Ifouw^ (pVvcdiLBy A. L. HardmanDanny MurUugh,the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was having his dinner at press headquarters in the Hilton Hotel on the eve of the 1%0 World Series.Some of the scribes »ere taking the Pittsburgh team, man by man. aal asking Danny to evaluate their importance in the Pirates' drive to the National League pennant.Danny obliged, neighing his weeds carefully.Then someone asked about n young pitcher named Karl Francis.•Oh hoy Danny brightened, -He'* one of the really good ones on our future list FRANCIS had spent moat of the 19*0 season at Columbus. the Pirates' farm club In the International League And. Indeed, his record there hod been nothing to brag about. He bad appeared in only II games with the Jets and had a modes! $-4 won-tost record.He had had tome minor arm trouble and wasn't able to work much of the season. Then during the latter part of the year, the Pirates brought him back to the big leagues, mainly to protect him from the baseball draft.He uas sent hack to Columbus In 1961 and had a 3-1 record there before Ihe Pirates brought him back to the big leagues. He finished the 1961 season there and had a none too impressive 2-8 mark and an earned run average of only 4 19.BIT STILL Murtaugh’s praise of Francis «i that World Series eve had not hern ill considered. Francis has been coming along according to schedule. He was 36 on July 14. however, and in just about now in the prime of his pitching career.Our interest in Fr8nci» stemmed Irwn the fact that he is a West Virginian, hav-. Ing hcen horn and raised at Slab Fork, a little mining community near Berkley.He's a good tasking’ bo.v. standing 6-2 and weighing 210 pounds He was signed by the Pirates in 19M and has come up through the* minor league system, although sidetrack-cd for a time. Use fact that he didn't establish himself as a major leaguer until the late ago of 26 Is due. mostly, to the fan ijtot he spent four years in the United States Air Force.That was from 1*33 through 193*.HE STARTED his ptofcs-EARL FRANCIS Pirates Rate Him Highlysional career in 1964 ot Clinton. Iowa, in the Class D Missouri Valley League There he started 23 games, completed 16 ami wound up with an 11-* record. His earned run mark was 3.10 and he showed 16# strikeouts lor the 1W innings he worked Then eame his sllnt in the Air Force.This eame at a lime when Karl was jmt aboul ready to thro* his baseball career out the window. In utter despair, he had nursed an ailing arm. Nothing he did seemed to help.So he though! fo.ir 'ears in Ihe Air Corps might enable him to forget Certainly there was no hope Ice his arm to regain its old strength and health.• • •BIT WHEN he went Ihrcifh his physical before his enlistment, the medics luond that Francis had n few hail teeth Utcy promptly yanked them out.And these ugly molars, it turned out, had been the cause of his arm trouble The old llipper cleared up in a burry and Earl was ready to return lo baseball. But there was r«hing he could do about that four - year enlistment. . lie *erved out his time Returning In 1939. hr went to Salt Lake In the PacificCoast League for a full season. He had a 6-5 record there, appearing in 29 games, starling 27 and finishing only four. He had 97 strikeouts. His lustiness from four years ah-trace frum the game was most apparent But he stayed at the Triple A level and went to Cotam-bus in ltHO. llis 5 4 included II starts and four complete games ard while he didn't improve much co his won • and - lost, he did nit down on his ERA to 3«H 3*1 looked * well that the Pirates called him up at the end of the season.• • •IIK APPEARED in relief seven times and wound up with a 10 mark tor that brief stint. His ERA was 2 ft)Back in Columbus to r^ien Ihe Ittl season, he was in nine games for the pennant-hound Jets, had a 3-t record and a fine 1.76 earned run mark before The Pirates, floundering from the start in defense of their IW pennant, hurried him bark to Pittsburgh.He got back on the Job June 1 of l*il. He made 13 Marls and eight relief appearances and wound up with a 2-8 record Tins was. by no means, anything terrific, but Manager Muriaugh still saw that future for Earl, uhx-ofoil name Is Earl Coleman Franc,*HIS FIRST major league game was on June 7. 1961. when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat him. 7-3. He gained revenge later in the month, however On June 3. he got 10 Dodgers on strikeouts in eight innings but was behind 20 when lifted for a pinch • hitter. The Pirate* rallied for four runs and won the game. 4-2. wtth Roy Face preserving the victory for him by pitching the ninth Inning This was the day that coo vineed Murtaugh that he hadn't been wrong in giving Francis star billing At tho beginning cd the 1963 eeaioo. ho started to show real strength bat. for some reason or other, the Pirate* never seemed to get ham many nos.Ho was losing 2-1. J2 and J-6 decisions, often pitching well enough to be tho winner. Bet despite this tough luck, after his appearance co t h o moind In Houston in the see-ord game of a double header on July 8. Francis had a Sd markThu isn't too impressive eilher but coittldcr the fact that ho had an earned run mark of 3.0) ant you get Ihe picture. He had appeared m 18 gomes through that period, had started It and completed only- one.But he had allowed only 87 hits in 99 1-3 innings and just 33 of the 40 runs he allowed were earned He had struck out 48 and walked only 31.YES Silt. Karl Cnlinim Francis has arrived and promise* to be pitching on tlw main line for some time to come. You can't improve much on his Jump to the major* Actually, lie put on only two lull seasons in the minor* — at Clinton and Salt Lake City.The next two years he »»» biunccd hack and forth lie-tween Pittsburgh and I'ohim-has but apparently is in Pills-hurgh now to .day.During hi* high school day*. Earl pitched and played Ihe outfield between torn* f o r -Stration High School of Berkley. lie also played football and. as a mutler ol fart, uon t.o letters in the gridiron sport ai compared to only one in baseball.But he played four years of American Legion baseball foe Post No. 70 in Berkley and it wa* there that he attracted the attention of the Pitts burgh KOUtSHe married Kliiabcth Stotts on December sr. 1*1.
Newspaper Details
Charleston Gazette Mail
Charleston, West Virginia, US
Sun, Jul 15, 1962
Page 59
Full Page
Clipped by
Raleigh C.
WV, USA 24 Jul 2017
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