Former Detroit Tiger pitching great Tommy Bridges died in a hospital here Friday. DATE OF IMAGE: 1940s PRINT DATE: 1968 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 4 - Second or later-generation photo, printed from a duplicate negative or wire photo process, in a later period TEAM: Detroit Tigers SUBJECT: Tommy Bridges ISSUER: Associated Press APPROXIMATE SIZE: 8"x10-7/8" NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges was born in Gordonsville, TN and died in 1968 in Nashville, TN. He went to college at the University of Tennessee. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1946 as pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, appeared in the 1934, 1935, 1940 and 1945 World Series, and was selected 6 times as an All-Star. In his article on Bridges for the SABR Baseball Biography Project, Ralph Berger described the secret to Bridges' success: "Small and frail looking, he didn't look impressive, but he possessed long, slender fingers that enabled him to put pressure on the ball. This pressure gave him one of the best curveballs ever in the major leagues. He also had excellent speed. In fact, his curveball, which looked like something dropping off a table, set up his fastball." Bridges was often accused of throwing an illegal spitball. Sent to the minors in 1946, he pitched for four years with the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League. On April 20, 1947, pitching for Beavers, Bridges finally got his no-hitter, beating San Francisco 2–0. Bridges also led the Pacific Coast League league in ERA in 1947, but never pitched in the majors again. In 1951 he became a scout and coach for the Cincinnati Reds, and he was later a scout for the Tigers and the New York Mets. SKU: L14432
Item: L14432
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