Milt Shoffner
was born in Sherman, Grayson Co., Texas,
13 November 1904, the only child of minor
league pitcher Herman Daniel Schoffner and
Jessie Lee Combs. Herman played
throughout Oklahoma and Texas for a
decade, during which his son was born.
Then he taught his son the game.
The family
moved around a lot, from Sherman to
Memphis, to Aurora Illinois, and finally
settling in Utical, New York, where Milt
attended high school and was baseball team
captain at age 15. At 6' 1", he
pitched, played first base and outfield.
After high school, Milt took a job
in Ilion, playing for the Ilion Elks and
hiring out to local semi-pro teams for
weekend games, making approximately $90
per week between his job and baseball
games.
1926 : joined
the Grand Rapid Black Sox of the newly
revived Central League
1926 : Central
League merged with the Michigan-Ontario
League to form the Michigan State League -
pitcher & right-fielder
The team's record was 60-61 for the year
1927 : Recalled
to Rochester to play for Bridgeport Bears.
Milt was regarded as an up and coming
talent, especially since he was a "lefty".
mid-July 1929 :
Called up to the Cleveland Indians
During the July
20th game, "Who would have
dreamed that their first pitches would be
to the Babe? Armed with a solid fastball
and a “high-school” curve, Milt went after
Ruth. With the count 3 and 2, Milt served
up, in his words, “a damn good curve,”
that the Babe swung at and missed. The
crowd erupted. After the game, the Babe
said to Shoffner, “Kid, bet you never
heard such applause for a man striking
out.”
July 21, 1931 :
Sent to Toledo
1932 : Because of
the Depression, teams were cutting back.
Not making the Cleveland Indians
after spring training, Milt chose to go
with the Newark Bears. "He made his
first start on May 2 with a 7-3 win over
Buffalo. He was, however, the odd man out
when roster cutdown came." He
joined the Nashville, being with the team
May 29 - June 22, 1932.
1932 : Albany; the Eastern League
disbanded on July 17
July 27, 1932 -
1937 : Scranton Miners of the New York
Penn League
September 8,
1937 - mid-season 1939 : Boston Bees
"The National League Atlanta Braves
franchise started in 1871 as the Boston
Brave Stockings, became the Boston Red
Caps in 1876, changed their name in 1883
to the Boston Beaneasters, then became
the Boston Doves in 1907, and then
became the Boston Rustlers in 1911,
before becoming the Boston Braves in
1912. The team took a break from
the Boston Braves nickname from 1936 -
1940 (Boston Bees) before returning to
the Braves name in 1941." [Source
: Baseball-Reference.com
