Paul Trout — Blog — Detroit Sports Addiction

Biographical Details:

Birth Name: Paul Howard Trout Bats: Right

Nickname: Dizzy Throw: Right

Birthdate: June 29, 1915 (Sandcut, Indiana) Height: 6’3”

Death Date: February 28, 1972 (Harvey, Illinois) Weight: 195 lbs

Paul “Dizzy” Trout was one of the winningest pitchers of the World War II era, collecting 82 wins to go along with 54 loses from 1943-1946. As we’ll see later, Trout was known for his theatrics and temper while on the field. He spent 14 years with the Detroit Tigers (1939-1952) before being sent to the Boston Red Sox in a nine-player deal where he later retired at the end of the season. Dizzy’s career contained nine 10+ win seasons, who of which were 20+. He posted 170 wins in his career and led the American League with a 2.12 ERA in 1944. The nickname of “Dizzy” was a creation of his own in an attempt to be as famous as Cardinals star Dizzy Dean. For a more in-depth account of Dizzy Trout’s theatrics, temper and career continue to read below.

Dizzy was the youngest of four children born to Virgil and Emma Trout in Sandcut, Indiana. His father Virgil was a coal miner and tenant farmer (a person who farms rented land) and due rent on the land being due at the beginning of every month Dizzy once said “I attended twelve different schools due to the fact that the rent came due on the first of every month and Pa most always had to move to another farm.” Unfortunately, Emma passed away when Trout was only 15 years old. When his farther remarried he hated his stepmother so much he moved out of the house and traveled around to different family members homes and evens spent nights under bridges when there was no family to stay with.

When it came to the game of baseball Trout used to tell people he had never held an actual baseball until he was 14 years old, rather, he and his friends would play ball with rolled rags and walnuts. He once recalled “my chum and I…went into the woods and killed flying squirrels with green walnuts.”

1934-1935

In 1934 at the young age of 19, Dizzy found himself traveling to Chicago to attempt to pitch in semipro ball, however, while there he managed to sweet talk his way into tryouts for both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. His “tryout” consisted of throwing batting practice for both ballclubs. Afterwards neither team was interesting in signing Trout to a contract.

After failing to be signed by either team in Chicago Trout traveled back to Terre Haute, Indiana. He wore his bib overalls to his tryout for the Three-I League Terre Haute Tots, eventually earning himself a contract for the 1935 season. He posted a 13-8 record on a Tots team that went 57-61 finishing in 4th place and was sold to the Double-A Indianapolis Indians.

Side Note: The Three-I League

The Three-I League, also known as the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, ran from 1901-1961 with several interruptions. The league was interrupted during 1918 due to World War I, 1933-34 due to the Great Depression, 1936 for an unknown/undocumented reason and finally from 1943-1945 due to World War II. There is no other Class-B league, which would be equivalent to today’s High-A or Double-A ball, to have a longer lifespan.

There have been several MLB Hall of Famers that had playing days in the Three-I:

Luis Aparicio, 1954, Waterloo White Hawks
Jim Bunning, 1951, Davenport Tigers
Hank Greenberg, 1931, Evansville Hubs
Whitey Herzog, 1952, Quincey Gems
Warren Spahn, 1941, Evansville Bees
Earl Weaver, 1960, Fox Cities Foxes

The league even made history on May 31, 1909. On this day, the longest professional baseball game ever played occurred. The game went 26 innings, lasting a total of five hours (30 minute of which was a rain delay). In the 26 innings there was only substitution. The starting pitcher, for both teams, went the distance facing 98 and 88 batters, respectively. Between the two of them a total of 24 hits and 6 walks were surrendered. This game held the record for longest game played for 57 years, until 1966 when Miami took on St. Petersburg in the Florida State League battling out a 29-inning affair.

1936-1940

By the spring of ’36 Paul Trout had given himself the nickname “Dizzy,” wanting to be as famous as Dizzy Dean; a four-time National League All Star and 1934 National league MVP, saying “It ain’t because I’ve got as much stuff as Diz, but they call me Diz because I talk as much as Diz.” The nickname even came with its own creation myth:

Trout was caught in a storm while visiting Toledo. While trying to duck out of the rain under an awing in centerfield he smashed head-on into the brick wall. The awing happened to not be real and was painted on the outfield wall. He claimed that this was when his teammates started calling him “Dizzy.”

After posting an 8-7 record with a 5.13 ERA with the Double-A Indianapolis Indians, Trout was acquired by Detroit at the end of the 1936 season with an invitation to Spring Training in 1937.

Come February (1937) Trout was at it again saying, “I’m here and the American League can rest assured that I’ll make more noise than Dean.” Mind you, Dizzy Dean had compiled 120 wins over the course of the 1932-1936 seasons and had made more than 45 appearances in each. The Detroit Tigers quickly came to realize that Dizzy ha a quirky personality that loved the limelight of the media and its cameras. He would even go so far as to wear crazy hats and fake mustaches; even sit in the stands and tell the paying fans all about himself.

After ripping on the Cardinals headed into an exhibition game in March, Trout imploded when he finally took the mound. He was not able to find the plate and threw a temper tantrum, like a child, when he was lifted from the game by then Manager Mickey Cochrane. Afterwards, the real Dizzy (Dean) told him “if I was you, I’d quit poppin’ off until I’d went out there and won myself some ballgames.”

Just days after his implosion Trout was right back to his antics, borrowing a policeman’s motorbike to ride around the ballpark. Cochrane was so fed up he told Trout “you can keep riding that thing to Toledo because that’s where you’ll be…”

In his column “Win, Lose or Draw” (February 8, 1950) Francis Stann of The Evening Star gave a slightly different account of the motorcycle incident. Apparently, the policeman whose bike Trout rode was considered to be one of Lakeland’s most avid fans. When Trout was unable to resist himself and took the motorcycle for a spin he discovered the “thingumajig” that made the sirens blare. The siren is what really did it for Dizzy and this was when Cochrane screamed “Keep right on going, you blankety-blank. You’re finished!”

After posting a 14-16 record at Toledo and having had so many issues with his behavior Detroit did not extend an invitation to Spring Training in 1938. Instead, to make their point, the front office decided to demote Dizzy to Beaumont in the Texas League. Luckily for Trout, he was able to be mentored by veteran Schoolboy Rowe. Trout ended the season with a 22-6 record allowing only 55 earned runs in 233 innings pitched (2.12 ERA).

Unfortunately, Dizzy’s antics continued during his time in Texas. Whether it was due to the lack of competition for him or the fact that he just had not changed in personality, he continued to act out. At times, he would walk off the mound, mid inning, for a water break or he would pull out a red bandana to wipe the fog off his glasses. He once ran full tilt to second base to then call timeout and sit on the bag to catch his breath. After the conclusion of the 1938 season Harry Salsinger of the Detroit News wrote “He cannot control his emotions. He is likely to go into an emotional stampede in any crisis.”

Entering Spring Training 1939 Trout proclaimed, “I’m all through with that clown stuff.” However, Trout still came to the ballpark wearing wild shoes with crazy colored socks and ties, but this is where the antics ended. Dizzy kept is mouth shut and made the club. Trout made his Major League debut on April 25th, 1939 against the St. Louis Browns, going only four innings he was knocked around for four earned runs before being lifted from the game. He did not earn his first career win until nearly a month after his debut on May 24th against the New York Yankees. After Trout threw his first win a young fan brought him cake; from there his life was changed.

After receiving the cake from young Ruth Ortman, Dizzy left the girl and her family tickets at the box office and met them at Briggs the following day. When meeting with the family Ruth’s sister Pearl was there as well. Before the day’s game Trout told his teammates that he had met the woman he was going to marry; Trout proposed to her on their first date and the two were married in September of 1939.

From Stann’s “Win, Lose or Draw” (February 8, 1950) Trout was pitching in a game his rookie season when first baseman Hank Greenberg allowed a ball to roll through his legs. Upon returning to the bench Trout looked at Greenberg and stated “Why don’t you earn that $60,000 a year they pay you?” after which both players went after each other and had to be pulled off of one another by teammates.

Dizzy was a relatively effective pitcher through his first four seasons. Unfortunately, Trout did not possess a single season with a winning record and was labeled a disappointment due to his wildness, inconsistency, and temper tantrums. In his first four seasons Trout posted a 9-10 (3.61 ERA), 3-7 (4.47 ERA), 9-9 (3.74 ERA) and 12-18 (3.43 ERA) record, respectively.

1942-1945

Before the 1942 season began Trout lead a team of Bowlers at the Michigan State bowling tournament. According to The Daily Monitor in Mt. Clemens, Trout’s bowling team failed to make it anywhere in the booster team division and Trout had the poorest performance of any of the bowlers on the team. Despite having a losing record through his first four seasons, now manager Del Baker did not give up on Trout as a starting pitcher; Baker believe in Trout’s stuff (fastball, curve and sinker). At one point during the season Baker pulled Trout from a game. Trout was so mad from being removed he charged his manager in the Dugout. In September of 1942, The Daily Monitor reported that Trout “reached into the field boxes for one of them [spectators] and became involved in a temperamental outburst that brought him a five-day suspension.” The outburst came after struggling on the mound and the fan in the stands screamed “when ya goin’ back to the minors, Dizzy?” After being heckled by the fans after his actions Dizzy thumbed his nose at the crowd; the five-day suspension was then laid down by General Manager Jack Zeller, the suspension was without pay.

The 1943 seasons seems to be where Trout turned his career around. There are two things that are believed to have launched this turn-around. First, more than 200 players had entered military service to serve in the war. Trout was classified as 4-F, medically unfit for duty, due to his poor eyesight and hearing. Second, Tigers new catcher Paul Richards helped to keep Trout’s temper in line. When Richards would notice Dizzy getting upset on the mound he would hold on to the ball in between pitches, indicating to Dizzy that he needed to slow down and breathe. Trout finished the 1943 season with a 20-12 record and a 2.48 ERA. Trout tossed 18 complete games, five of which were shutouts surrendering only 68 earned runs in 246.2 innings pitched. The 20 wins and 5 shutouts were tops in the American League and his 2.48 ERA was good for fifth in the league as well.

The Detroit Tigers found themselves with an extremely strong 1-2 punch with Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout during the 1944 season. At the mid-point of the season Detroit found itself sitting in 7th place, as the season continued the Tigers road the arms of Newhouser and Trout climbing back into the pennant race. On August 29th The Daily Monitor wrote and article titled “Dizzy Trout Out for 22nd Victory Today” in which it indicated that Trout was the first American League pitcher to earn 21 victories on the season and that he had been unbeaten in his previous 7 starts. After having pulled themselves back into the pennant race everything came down to the final game of the season in which Trout fell to the Senators pitching on one day rest. Dizzy finished the ’44 season with a 27-14 record throwing 352.1 innings including 33 complete games and 7 shutouts. Trout and Newhouser combined for 56 wins between the two of them; 27 and 29 respectively. These 56 wins were the most by any pitching duo since the dead ball era. The Dead Ball Era was a period in the early 20th century during which runs were at a premium and there was a strong emphasis on pitching and defense. After the conclusion of the ’44 season Trout earned 10 first place MVP votes but lost to teammate Newhouser 236-232 due to the point system.

Because of the war and being designated 4-F Trout chose to work in a war plant during the off seasons. He also became a public speaker and spoke on behalf of War Bonds, the USO and the Red Cross.

Entering the 1945 season there were some doubts about how effective Dizzy would be due to the workload of the 1944 season and during Spring Training it appeared to have taken it’s toll on Trout. However, on April 19th, 1945 The Daily Monitor published an article title “Shut-Out Victory Reveals Diz Trout Not ‘Burned Out’” going on to say those the critics who had feared the burn out received the answer that he was not after Trout hurled a seven-hit shut-out against St. Louis. Come May Trout had to sit out for two weeks and upon his return started throwing double duty; pitching in relief between his starts. Trout went through a bit of a rough patch, dealing with sore muscles and stiffness in both his side and lower-back, but powered through. During the month of September Trout pitched 10 times in a 20-day period; made 6 starts and 4 relief appearances. His resilience and determination of the 1945 season earned him the start of Game 4 of the World Series. On 12 days rest Dizzy hurled a 5 hit, 1 unearned run completed game. It is reported that upon completing the game Trout bowed to the grandstand. Afterward, when being interviewed about the game he said “Well I just threw that atom ball today…you just throw it at ‘em, and they can’t do a thing with it.” Game six provided Dizzy his second chance at a victory in the World Series, however, this was a relief appearance. After throwing 4 shutout innings a batted ball took a bad hop off a sprinkler head in the 12th landing Diz with the loss.

1948-1952

The ’48 season was not friendly to Diz, he ended up missing more than a month of the season due to arm soreness. When he was not out due to injury Trout was ineffective when on the mound, he only started 23 games and ended the season with a 10-14 record and 3.43 ERA.

Come 1949, now manager Red Rolfe moved Trout to the bullpen, from which he only worked 59.1 innings on the season. In March of ’49 Francis Stann wrote about Trout in his Column “Win, Lose or Draw” for The Evening Star in Washington D.C. stating “Trout has a definite flair for the spectacular. He likes the crucial moments, when he can dig into his hip pocket for his flaming red handkerchief, wipe his brown and finally fire the ball.” Stann believed that the move to the bullpen would allow Dizzy to get his chances to be dramatic. The following two seasons (1950-51) Trout found himself pulling double duty once again; not only starting but pitching in relief as well.

There was an apparent deal in place to send Dizzy to the Washington Nationals on February 6, 1950 according to an article titled “Detroit Deal Is Slated To Go Through Today; Rolfe O.K. Awaited” in The Evening Star. It was expected that Trout would head to D.C. and Paul Calvert would be sent to Detroit. The deal eventually fell through.

Just days after the deal with Washington fell through Trout found himself teaching baseball science to 400 American soldier ballplayers in Bavaria per The Evening Star. The event was the annual GI baseball school and Dizzy was slated to teach the soldiers the art of pitching. Despite being a talkative guy, Trout did a majority of the demonstration while Jim Konstanty did the lecturing.

In June of 1952 Trout found himself as part of a 9 player deal with the Boston Red Sox. The deal found George Kell, Hoot Evers, Johnny Lipon and Dizzy Trout (a throw-in piece) sent to Boston in return for Walt Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Johnny Pesky and two others. Sports writer Watson Spoelstra wrote that Trout had “just about reached the end of his useful days in Detroit” as part of the reasoning of him being added to the trade.

1953-1956

When speaking with a reporter before Spring Training 1953 Trout said “When it got to the plate it was so slow, two pigeons were roosting on it in mid-air. I decided to quit.” The pitch in questions was a fastball from the previous season. No longer playing ball Trout found himself needing to support his family and eventually took a job with the Detroit Tigers once again. Diz entered the broadcast booth as the color analyst for both TV and Radio broadcasts. Many people within the organization and around the league felt that Trout was a natural in the booth. During his time in Detroit he worked with Van Patrick, a well respected professional who also worked Notre Dame and Detroit Lions Football games. Patrick took his job very seriously and would correct Trout’s grammar mid-broadcast and Trout, being the same guy he was as a player, would correct Patrick’s analysis. Trout was eventually replaced by Mel Ott after three years.

Now having 8 children with his wife Pearl Trout was still in need of work. In 1956 Diz decided he would run for Wayne County Sheriff. He ended up winning the Republican Nomination, however, ended up losing the general election by a landslide to the then Democrat Sheriff who had held the office for nearly 26 years.

1957

At the age of 42, now having 9 children, Trout decided to make an attempt at a comeback in July. He found himself signed to the Triple-A squad in the Baltimore organization. After making just 3 appearances in Triple-A Trout was called up to the show once again in September. In his first game back on the mound Trout was right back to his old ways, detouring to the dugout for water when coming in from the pen and pulling out is patented red bandana to wipe his glasses. In his second appearance back, Trout was unable to record an out before giving up two singles, a double, a triple and three runs. Just two games in the comeback was ended.

1959-1972

After being out of the game for the second time in his career, Trout was once again back in the market for a job. The Chicago White Sox came calling in 1959, asking him to run tryout camps around the Midwest. White Sox owner Bill Veeck like Trout so much that he put him to work on their banquet circuit, using him to tell stories before introducing Veeck at promotional events. Veeck sold the White Sox in 1961, however, new ownership retained Trout and promoted him to the head of their Speaker’s Bureau. With his new title it was necessary for Dizzy to move his family, now 10 children and wife Pearl, to Chicago. He also helped to move Pearl’s parents to the city as well.

While in Chicago, a reporter once asked Dizzy how long he had been married. Trout responded 6 months. When reminded he had 10 children by the reporter he responded “You see, Pearl and I operate on a six-month basis. If we still love each other after that time, we tack on another six months. It’s worked pretty well so far.”

Despite having 10 children, only one pursued baseball. While playing catch with his son Steve in the yard, Trout yelled you “someone go get Pearl! This is the little SOB who can pitch! And we can stop having kids, too!” Steve went on to have a 12-year career amassing 88 wins. Steve was selected by the White Sox in 1976, 4 years after Dizzy’s passing in 1972 due to complications with cancer. When asked about it Bill Veeck, who had repurchased the White Sox organization, said “I was afraid Dizzy would put a curse on me if I didn’t take his kid.”

Trout finished his career amongst the all-time leaders in shutouts for the Detroit Tigers. During his years in Detroit (1939-1952) Dizzy hurled 28 shutouts good for 6th all-time in Detroit. Dizzy trails only Mickey Lolich (39), George Mullin (34), Tommy Bridges (33), Hal Newhouser (33) and Bill Donovan (29). Since 2010 only 10 Tigers have even manage to throw a shutout and of those 10 only three have thrown more than one (Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Rick Porcello).

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