Zeb Eaton

 

Zeb Eaton was a relief pitcher for the 1944-45 Detroit Tigers, then was on the Philadelphia Athletics’ roster for part of the 1949 season without appearing in an official game.

Zebulon Vance Eaton, Jr., was born on February 2, 1920, in Cooleemee, North Carolina, southwest of Winston-Salem. His parents, Zeb and Amanda, married in 1911 and had several children over the next several years, of which two, Floyd and Mary, survived. Zeb Sr. passed away on December 29, 1919, while Amanda was pregnant with Zeb Jr. The 1920 census was taken on January 24, and Amanda, eight-year-old Floyd, and five-year-old Mary were living at 5 Grove Street in Cooleemee with Amanda’s sister Emily and her husband Cap Gullett, a weaver in a cotton mill.

Amanda remarried and started a new family with farmer Robert McDaniel, a much older widower. In the 1930 census 67-year-old Robert and 38-year-old Amanda are farming in Unity Township, very near to Cooleemee, with four-year-old Clarence and three-year-old Frances. Ten-year-old Zeb has been adopted by the Gulletts, and they are living at 13 Grove Street in Cooleemee, which it seems may have been the same house as 5 Grove Street. I don’t know where Floyd and Mary were, but not with the McDaniels or the Gulletts.

Zeb left school after finishing one year of high school. I don’t know what he was doing for a living, but he played amateur baseball, and in 1938, age 18, he signed with the local minor league team, the Cooleemee Weavers of the Class D North Carolina State League. In the league stats he’s one of the names at the bottom of both the hitters (players in fewer than 10 games) and the pitchers (fewer than 45 innings), so we don’t know how he did.

Zeb started 1939 on the Cooleemee roster, but on May 11 he signed with the Martinsville Manufacturers of the Bi-State League, also Class D. He didn’t last long there, again appearing in less than ten games, then he apparently went back to the Weavers. There he played in 36 games, including 17 as a pitcher and 16 as an outfielder. He hit just .158 with 12 hits in 76 at-bats, and only two walks, but his 12 hits included four home runs and went for 28 total bases. As a pitcher he had a 4.39 ERA in 80 innings, allowing just 64 hits but walking 48 and throwing 13 wild pitches. By November he had been acquired by the Alexandria Aces of the Evangeline League, still Class D, as he appeared on their reserve list.

In his early years in the minors Zeb was known by many different names: Zeb Eaton, Zebulon Eaton, Zev Eaton, Sam Eaton, Sammy Eaton, Samuel Zebulon Eaton, and Red Eaton, but by the time he hits the majors it’ll be pretty much just Zeb and an occasional Zebulon.

On April 16, 1940, opening day, Zeb pitched a three-hit shutout against the Rayne Rice Birds, striking out ten. The April 28 Beaumont Enterprise reported:

Art Phelan [Alexandria president-manager] has somewhat of a sensation among his pitching staff in young Zeb Eaton who literally makes ‘em (the batters) eat ‘em (his fast ones). Eaton appearing in two games has won both one via the shutout route over Rayne 6 to 0 and the other via the gridiron route 20 to 2 over Port Arthur…

On May 31 Zeb started a scoreless inning streak that ran to 44 innings, ending on three ninth-inning unearned runs on June 17. At that point he had a 13-4 record with 137 strikeouts in 133 innings and a 1.35 ERA—and he was hitting over .300. A June 20 Sporting News piece on the streak called Zeb, or actually Sammy, a “little red-faced fellow” and a “fireball pitcher with a blitzkrieg delivery.” On July 16 he was sold to the Beaumont Exporters, part of the Tigers’ system, of the Class A1 Texas League for 1941 delivery; on July 26 he won his 20^th, and on the 28^th the Beaumont Enterprise reported, completely inaccurately:

He doesn’t like to be called Zev, which is his middle name, but prefers the name of Sam, which was also given him at birth. However, he’ll probably go through baseball as Zev Eaton rather than Sam Eaton, and he should not regret it either, for there are plenty of Sams round about but the number of Zevs are few and far between…

On August 5 Zeb pitched a five-inning shutout as first-place Alexandria defeated the all-stars of the rest of the league, 1-0, in the Evangeline League all-star game. In the stats through August 11 Zeb had a 20-8 record, having lost three straight. He ended up 23-11 with a league-leading 1.77 ERA in a league-leading 295 innings with a league-leading 256 strikeouts (second-most was 177), a league-leading 26 wild pitches, and a not-quite-league-leading 145 walks. He hit .286 with a .491 slugging percentage.

Beaumont Journal, March 1, 1941:

Concerning Eaton: Evangeline league fans and scribblers call him “Zev” Eaton, but the Alexandria hot-shot signs his name “Zeb,” but “Zev” or “Zeb,” Eaton can pitch for our money…He was the outstanding pitcher in the Hot-Pepper circuit last year and should make the Exporters a fine chunker this season if the right-hander has retained his mound effectiveness…

Zeb appeared on the Beaumont opening day roster under Zebulon Vance Eaton, listed as 5-11, 176, with the nicknames “Sam” and “Zev.” On July 1 he filled out his draft registration card with the Beaumont draft board, giving his name as Zeb Vance Eaton, Jr., his address as 13 Grove Street, his occupation as “textile employee in winter, ball player in summer,” the person who will always know your address as Cap Gullett, his employer as E.M. Holt of the Irvin Cotton Mill in Cooleemee, and his appearance as 5-11, 185, blue eyes, red hair, and light complexion.

On August 29 the Beaumont Journal ran an article on what the various members of the Exporters would be doing during the off-season:

Zev Eaton plans to winter at his home in Cooleemee, N.C., and right now he has no work in sight. “I’m hoping I’ll land something,” he grinned.

Zeb found the Texas League quite a bit tougher than the Evangeline. He had an 8-15 record and 4.55 ERA in 176 innings in 37 games, again leading the league in wild pitches, with 17.

On March 6, 1942, Zeb was inducted into the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His paperwork said that he was 5-10, 171 pounds. He was stationed at Camp Wolters in Texas, where he played baseball, starring as a hitter and as a pitcher; then in 1943 he was playing baseball at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, where Warren Spahn was a teammate. In early 1943 he was moved from the Beaumont military list to the Detroit military list. On December 4 the Tigers announced that Zeb had been honorably discharged for medical reasons and would be coming to spring training to compete for a spot on their pitching staff; it was later said that the discharge was due to sinus trouble and flat feet.

Zeb went to spring training 1944 as a pitcher, but played right field in some early exhibition games, seemingly due to a shortage of players. He made the team and made his major league debut in the second game of the season, at home against the Browns on April 19. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the 8^th, Zeb pinch-hit for starting pitcher Rufe Gentry with no outs and a runner on first; he reached base on an error on Don Gutteridge and was removed for a pinch runner, Charlie Metro. That was his only appearance before being optioned to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, the Tigers’ Class AA farm team, in early May.

Zeb was being used mostly as a relief pitcher in Buffalo, but in late May he started getting some starts in the outfield. On June 4 he had three homers and six RBI in a doubleheader; on July 17 he was recalled by Detroit. For the Bisons he had pitched 48 innings in 15 games, three of them starts, and had a 5.63 ERA, largely due to 35 walks. Overall he played in 34 games, many as a pinch hitter, and hit .242/.286/.545 with five home runs in 66 at-bats.

Zeb arrived in Detroit on July 22 after being missing for a couple of days. He made his pitching debut the next day against Philadelphia, replacing starter Johnny Gorsica with nobody out in the top of the first, three runs in and runners on first and second. He allowed a single to load the bases, got an out that scored a run, balked, then walked two batters before being removed; the Tigers lost 13-3. Two days later, against the Red Sox, Zeb pinch-hit for Gorsica, who had entered the game in relief, down 5-0  in the bottom of the 5^th. He then stayed in the game and finished it, allowing two runs in four innings. Two days after that he pinch-hit for Gorsica again, but did not stay in to pitch; the day after that he pitched the last 2 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs, in a 15-5 loss.

After that burst of activity Zeb didn’t play much. He made two relief appearances in August, and in September he pinch-hit once and relieved once. For his time in Detroit he had a 5.74 ERA in 15 2/3 innings in six games, while getting one single in ten at-bats at the plate. His teammates voted Zeb a 1/3 share of their second-place share of the World Series money, which got him $266.50.

Zeb went to spring training 1945 with the Tigers, and on March 8 he filled out a questionnaire. He gave his name as Zeb V. Eaton Jr., his nickname as Red, his nationality as Irish, his address as 13 Grove Street, his size as 5-11 186, his marital status as not married, his military status as “1-C discharge from Army,” his favorite other sport as football, and his hobbies as hunting and fishing.

There were reports that Zeb looked great in spring training, and he opened the season on the major league roster. On May 19 it was reported that he had returned to the team after being called back to NC due to the illness of his mother; May ended with him still waiting to get into his first game. He made his 1945 debut on June 1, pinch-hitting for catcher Paul Richards, then on the 9^th he made his pitching debut, getting his first major league win by pitching the last two innings in a game the Tigers won 7-6 with four runs in the bottom of the 9^th. Zeb drove in the first two of those runs with a double, but didn’t get to score the tying run because he was pinch-run for.

Before the game of June 21 Zeb was the first pitcher to throw batting practice to Hank Greenberg, just out of the military, as recounted in the June 28 Sporting News:

First Pitch to Hank a Bean Ball

DETROIT, Mich.—The first curve ball that Hank Greenberg saw in his initial workout on his return to the Tigers, June 21, headed for the big outfielder’s head, forcing him to duck. He asked the pitcher, Zeb Eaton, to throw another. This one broke into the dirt.

“No more curves,” Hank requested. “Just a fast ball, please.” He drove it on a high arc into left field—and baseball in Detroit again returned to normal.

On July 15 came the most famous moment of Zeb’s career, as summed up by Leo MacDonell in his Detroit Times column of the 17^th:

Eaton Steals Hank’s Thunder in New York

NEW YORK, July 16—Big league baseball gets crazier every day.

Forty thousand New Yorkers congregated at Yankee Stadium to see a fellow townsman, the celebrated Henry Greenberg, late of the Army Air Corps, hit a home run. It was the Bronx boy’s first showing in a baseball uniform here since 1940. He got a tremendous ovation.

(There would have been 75,000 in the big stadium were it not for an all day rain, that was heavier than Larry MacPhail’s tears.)

And the fellow who exploded the Tiger homer was Zebelon [sic] Vance Eaton Jr. from Cooleemee, N.C., a comparatively obscure relief pitcher whose pinch-hitting proclivities were discovered at Buffalo last season.

Moreover, Zebelon Vance Eaton Jr. of Cooleemee, N.C., achieved his homer with the bases loaded, a feat thus far this season, only matched by one Tiger, Paul Rapier Richards of Waxahachie, Tex., which proves, it seems that people from the provinces can hit homers as well or more effective sometimes, than those from the more populated centers of the land…

Zeb pinch-hit for starting pitcher Al Benton with the bases loaded with two out in the top of the fourth and the Tigers down 2-0, against Yankees ace Hank Borowy. With a 2 and 2 count “he smashed the ball off the girders on the third deck of the left field stands.” Borowy got the third out, then was pinch-hit for, after which the Yankees came back to win 5-4. But Yankee president Larry MacPhail and manager Joe McCarthy were so angry with Borowy that, after he got one more start the following week, they sold him to the Cubs, where he went 11-2 the rest of the way, led the team to its last pennant for many years, and was named National League Pitcher of the Year.

From Detroit Times sports editor Bob Murphy’s “Bob Tales” column of July 18:

Zeb Eaton, the young Tiger rookie pitcher, who slammed out a dream home run in Yankee Stadium with three aboard, doesn’t come by his hitting by accident. He works at it as tediously as some of the pro golfers work on iron shots.

“To be sure he gets his hitting practice,” one Tiger official said, “Eaton gets to the ball park before all the others. He corrals a bunch of kids and starts belting away. He hits plenty of balls into those left field stands.”

Zeb continued to both pitch and pinch-hit, and on August 8 he hit a second pinch-hit home run, a two-run shot against Boston that tied the game with two out in the bottom of the 9^th; however the Tigers lost in twelve innings. On August 16 he got a feature article in the Sporting News:

Tigers’ Double-Duty Eaton Delivers as Pinch-Swinger and Relief Flinger

Hurler Has Hit Two Homers as Emergency Batter, One With Bases Full

By SAM GREENE

DETROIT, Mich.

In a tight game, Steve O’Neill, needing a pinch-hitter, leaves the third-base coaching lines and casts a roving eye into the Detroit dugout. Who shall it be? As likely as not, the choice will fall upon an eager, silent fellow physically distinguished by a mop of red hair with complexion to match.

It may be the very next afternoon that O’Neill needs a relief pitcher. He signals to the distant bullpen and this same reddish faced fellow comes striding to the mound to take the ball left by some crestfallen teammate, now bound for the solace of the showers.

The reddish faced fellow is Zebulon Vance Eaton, Jr., from the cotton mill country of North Carolina by way of Alexandria, La., Beaumont, Tex., and the United States Army.

Whether the emergency confronting the Tigers has to do with a shortage of punch on the Detroit side or an excess of it by the opposition, Eaton is a candidate to step into the breach. He is a pinch-hitting pitcher whose record bears testimony to his effectiveness in the dual role…

Two days later Zeb got his tonsils out, which laid him up for more than two weeks. In September he pitched three times and pinch-hit twice, while the Tigers won the pennant by a game and a half over the Senators. His only appearance in the World Series against the Cubs was in Game One, when he pinch-hit in the fourth inning with two runners on base, and Hank Borowy got his revenge, striking Zeb out. The Tigers won the series in seven games.

For the season, Zeb had a 4.05 ERA in 53 1/3 innings in 17 games, three of them starts, and had an unusually bad ratio of 15 strikeouts to 40 walks. He also pinch-hit nine times, and his hitting line was .250/.250/.469 with a double, two homers, and 10 RBI in 32 at-bats. An October 18 Sporting News article on the Tigers and their off-season plans said “Zeb Eaton is bound for the quail-shooting section of North Carolina, adjacent to his home town of Cooleemee.” He was voted a full World Series winner’s share of $6443.34, then on December 6 his contract was transferred to Buffalo.

In spring training 1946 Zeb seems to have played exclusively for Buffalo, not getting a chance to compete for a job with the Cubs. (Beginning this season the International League was reclassified from AA to AAA, as an extra layer was added to the minor league hierarchy.) The April 25 Sporting News reported that “Pitchers Zeb Eaton and Charley Schupp rejoined the club on opening day after short visits to their homes, with Eaton turning in a signed contract to avoid a threatened suspension.” From the July 24 TSN:

Zeb Eaton continues to wave a menacing willow, but has been no puzzle on the mound. While being handed an 11 to 4 shellacking by Montreal, July 10, he rapped his third homer and a single in four appearances…

Zeb was definitely no puzzle on the mound in 1946, ending up with a 7.07 ERA in 112 innings in 32 games, seven of them starts, with 88 walks. He played in 73 games total, with a handful of them in the outfield and the remainder as a pinch-hitter. He hit .290/.339/.495, with six homers and 23 RBI in 107 at-bats. Then, on October 12, he got married in Buffalo, to Buffalo resident Marjorie Laurie Fink. The January 1, 1947, issue of the Cooleemee Erwin Chatter, a monthly paper published by the Erwin Cotton Mills Company, reported that “Mr. and Mrs. Zeb Eaton, from Buffalo, New York, spent Christmas at the home of Cap Gullett.” This item came under the heading of “Weaving,” suggesting that Cap was working as a weaver for the company.

On February 5, 1947, the Sporting News reported that Zeb had been sold by Buffalo to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern Association, where he would be used as an outfielder. He was actually the starting pitcher in the Barons’ first exhibition game in March, though the United Press account called him “an outfielder by trade.” He won a spot as a starting outfielder, and in early May was third in the league in batting average at .390; as of June 3^rd he was leading the league at .387. An item in the June 11 Sporting News said that he had gone 20 for 34 in a recent road trip. Then, on July 16, just as it was reported that he was among the leaders in the voting for the league’s all-star game, he got hit in the head with a pitch. The July 17 UP account, as it appeared in the Anniston Star:

Eaton Suffers Serious Injury

Birmingham Outfielder Being Treated By Dr. Galbraith Following Blow

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 17. (UP)—Zeb Eaton, star Birmingham Baron outfielder, today was believed in critical condition in a local hospital as a result of being beaned last night by pitcher John Hall of the Mobile Bears.

Dr. J. Garber Galbraith, a brain specialist, formerly of Anniston, who has been constantly at his bedside, said his condition had taken a decided turn for the worse.

Only Mrs. Eaton, whom he married five [nine] months ago, general manager Eddie Glennon of the Barons and Hall, the Mobile pitcher, have been permitted to visit him.

Hall broke down and sobbed while in Eaton’s room.

“I wouldn’t have had it to happen for anything,” he cried. “I wouldn’t hurt or deprive anybody of a living.”

Although x-ray pictures taken a short while after the accident indicated there was no skull fracture, doctors are not so sure and further examination will be made.

It was a terrific lick on Eaton’s head. The click of the ball was heard in the press box on top of the grandstand and it bounced high in the air.

Eaton grabbed his head, groaned and collapsed. He has been in an unconscious and semi-conscious condition since then.

Eaton, a former Detroit Tiger pitcher, is batting .359 and has been consistently among the group of five top hitters in the Southern Association since the season started. He has 12 homers and 71 runs batted in.

From the next day’s UP story, as it appeared in the Statesville Daily Record:

COOLEEMEE STAR HIT BY BEAN BALL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 18.—(UP)—Physicians today reported the critical condition of Zeb Eaton, the Birmingham Barons’ popular outfielder who was beaned by a pitched ball, remained unchanged during the night.

Jefferson-Hillman hospital said today that he suffered a “brain hemorrhage” last night and was still in an unconscious condition today.

Eaton, who is from Cooleemee, N.C., was hit on the back of the head Wednesday night by pitcher John Hall of the Mobile Bears. The thud of the ball, which bounced high in the air, was heard throughout the stands…

Thousands of his fans jammed the telephones to the hospital and to radio stations and newspapers last night asking about his condition. The hospital had to appeal by radio to his friends to refrain from calling there because it was not equipped to handle all the calls.

On the 19^th it was reported that Zeb was out of danger and was fully conscious, and on the 21^st that he was continuing to improve, had eaten solid food, and was expected to be out of the hospital in about ten days. On August 9 the New Orleans Item reported that “Eaton, who has lost 25 pounds during a month [three weeks at most] in the hospital, saw last night’s game but said it would probably be his last, since doctors advised him to avoid excitement.” The August 20 Sporting News said that Zeb “will not return to the Baron outfield this year, remaining, however, in Birmingham until the end of the season for periodic checkups.” Reports must have been extremely encouraging, since on August 24 the Barons’ parent club, the Philadelphia Athletics, bought Zeb’s rights for 1948. His 1947 stats were .359/.424/.589 with 30 doubles, seven triples and 12 home runs in 348 at-bats in 98 games. He made a handful of pitching appearances but did not get the 45 innings necessary to be listed in the final pitching stats.

Zeb appeared on the Athletics’ reserve list over the winter, and in February 1948 he returned his signed contract. He went to spring training to compete for a job in their outfield, and on March 3 was the subject of Hugh Fullerton Jr.’s AP “Sports Briefs” column:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 3.—(AP)—It isn’t exactly a novelty for a pitcher to switch to the outfield, although pitchers traditionally are weak hitters. But it does seem strange when a guy who wants to make the change encounters stiff resistance…Zebulon V. Eaton, jr., who is trying for a place in the Philadelphia Athletics infield [sic], had that happen to him…”I wanted to play the outfield in 1946 when the Tigers sent me to Buffalo,” Zeb explains. “They wouldn’t let me, so I had to wait until last year at Birmingham. Of course I had filled in for a game or so before then when somebody was out.”…Eaton, who pitched 17 games for the Tigers in 1945, did all right once they let him make the change…

He was going strong when he was hit on the head by a pitched ball and injured so badly he didn’t get into uniform again until last Monday…But that .358 batting average for the Barons doesn’t look bad when compared to some the A’s compiled last summer.[all ellipses part of original column]

But Zeb was having trouble with his vision. The UP reported on March 23:

Outfielder Zeb Eaton of the Philadelphia A’s was on his way to Philadelphia today for an eye examination. Eaton has been bothered by a blind spot, which is believed to be caused by a sinus condition.

A March 31 Sporting News report said that:

The blow on Eaton’s head had no connection with the eye difficulties, a preliminary examination has disclosed. A sinus condition is believed to be at the root of the trouble.

A week later TSN reported:

To reduce the squad, Connie [Mack] had to do some pruning and optioning. Zeb Eaton, the former Detroit pitcher who was purchased from Birmingham as an outfielder, came up with a sinus infection that hinders his eyesight, and apparently the A’s are unwilling to gamble on his recovery. “I can sell him,” says Connie.

Connie didn’t sell him, though, and meanwhile the story changed on the cause of his problems. On April 14 Jack Keady of the Arkansas Democrat reported that Zeb “is still suffering from terrible headaches from the blow he received when hit by a pitched ball in Birmingham.”  The following day Al Thomy of the Greensboro Daily News wrote a column on a conversation he had with Connie Mack:

…The stately owner-manager of the Athletics was asked about the absence of North Carolinians from his squad this season.

“That is a bit unusual,” he replied. “We have only one native North Carolinian on the team and that is Zeb Eaton of Cooleemee. Incidentally, he is now in Philadelphia taking treatment for eye trouble. He was beaned while playing for Birmingham last season and has had trouble since that date.”

On April 21 the Sporting News reported that Zeb had been placed on the inactive list, and he remained there for the entire season; still, his teammates voted him a full share, $415.32, of their fourth place share of the World Series money.

In January 1949 Zeb, now about to turn 29, signed a new contract with the Athletics. On March 30, while the AP was reporting that “former Detroit pitcher turned outfielder” Zeb Eaton was “tagged for the axe” and “may join the Buffalo team,” the Sporting News reported:

…meantime, while losing an outfielder, the A’s had gained another hurler. Zeb Eaton, 1945 Detroit flinger who batted .359 as an outfielder with Birmingham in ’47, has returned to his old position. Struck above the ear by Pitcher John Hall two years ago and on the voluntarily retired list for treatment of a resultant blind spot last season, Eaton found his eyes have not improved sufficiently for the visual demands of batting, but his arm is still strong.

Zeb did go to Buffalo, where he did pitch, but he didn’t play enough to appear in either the batting or pitching stats for the International League. In early June he was called back up to Philadelphia; a June 15 Detroit Times article mentioned that he “wants to return to the outfield” and “is still taking medical treatments to correct faulty vision caused by the blow on the head.” He sat on the bench until June 27, when he got the start in an exhibition game against the Phillies; he allowed ten runs in four innings in a 19-2 loss, and the next day Connie Mack optioned him to Savannah of the Class A Sally League.

For Savannah Zeb played in 49 games, only five of them as a pitcher. He pitched 21 innings and allowed 19 hits, 13 runs, and 15 walks; his ERA is unknown. At the plate he hit .232/.308/.368 in 155 at-bats, way off his previous levels, playing mostly in the outfield. In November TSN reported that he would be returning to Philadelphia, and on December he appeared on their reserve list.

In February 1950, though, the A’s sold Zeb to the Shreveport Sports, an independent team in the Class AA Texas League. He pitched for them in spring training, then relieved in one regular season game in which he allowed two hits, a walk, and two balks in one inning; after that the Sports returned him to Philadelphia. But apparently the Athletics released him, as he wound up pitching for Clinton in the semi-pro Central Carolina League, where he won 16 and lost seven.

For 1951 Zeb found his way back into pro ball, signing with the independent Greenwood Tigers of the Class B Tri-State League. An article in the April 18 Wilson (NC) Daily Times said that he was “counted on to be one of the Tigers’ best moundsmen.” On May 22 the Rocky Mount Evening Telegram reported:

Zeb Eaton turned in one of his typical mound performances to lead the home-standing Greenwood Tigers to a 7-1 win over Spartanburg. Eaton, the league’s strike-out artist, scattered 10 singles and fanned seven.

Zeb spent the season with Greenwood, though he didn’t end up doing as well as it sounded like he was doing early on. He had a 13-16 record and 5.03 ERA in 231 innings in 37 games, striking out 177, fourth in the league. As a hitter he went .254/.362/.449 with six homers in 118 at-bats in 64 total games, both walking and striking out significantly more frequently than he had earlier in his career.

In March 1952 Zeb signed with the Gastonia Rockets, also of the Tri-State League, a White Sox affiliate. He got a writeup in the Gastonia Gazette on March 20:

Former Big Leaguer Is Set To Go

By Ken Alexander

(Gazette Sports Editor)

A righthander, who won 13 games for a seventh-place finisher in the Tri-State League last summer, yesterday was signed by the Gastonia Rockets.

Zeb Eaton’s signature brings the total pitching staff to six. The 175-pounder is a native of Cooleemee and was a member of the 1945 Detroit Tigers’ mound crew. The American League club, as you may recall, won the World Series by defeating the Chicago Cubs.

“Won four, lost two that season,” he recalled yesterday. “I was used mostly in relief roles and did a lot of pinch-hitting for the Tigers.” As a matter of fact, Zeb has been pretty good with the lumber throughout his 12-year pro life.

He broke into professional baseball with his hometown Cooleemee club of the Class D North Carolina State League in 1939. He won six games, lost three his baptismal season. The Tigers bought him at season’s end and he reported to the Class D Evangeline League Alexandria, La., outfit the following summer.

“That,” he grinned and said, “was my best pitching season in professional baseball, and any ball player likes to tell about his best.” The sandy-haired North Carolinian, married and the father of one child, buried 23 regular season victories with the Louisiana team and dropped 11. He won three playoff games and to top off his brilliant season’s efforts, Zebulon was the winning pitcher in the All-Star contest at mid-season…

The Gazette reported on April 5:

Eaton has amazed daily visitors to Sims-Legion Park with his long-distance clouting. Zeb was one of the top hitting pitchers in the Tri-State last summer. He hits the long ball and as a result the Cooleemee native has spent many summer nights in the outfield…

Again from the Gazette, from Ken Alexander’s column:

Zeb Eaton—A Guy With A Great Desire To Win

Spartanburg is no stranger to Zeb Eaton. He’s faced, been beaten and has whipped the Tri-State Peaches before. The sandy-haired veteran gets another look at them tonight as Gastonia opens its season at Sims-Legion Park.

Zeb encountered Spartanburg on five occasions in 1951 and got the best end of things on three of them. “Never will forget the first one I worked against that club,” he recalled yesterday just before getting his practice swing at the plate. “I got behind on the count to Al Neil, decided to let up just enough to throw a strike. That probably was my first mistake in the Tri-State. He drove the ball out of the lot and the game went with it 3-2.”

After that episode Eaton, understandably enough, treated Slugger Neil with special caution. Neil, as you may recall, led the Tri-State homer parade in 1951 with 44. This and the fact that he drove in 154 runs sent him into faster company.

“I’m making no predictions about what will happen out there against Spartanburg,” said Zeb smiling. Then, in almost the same breath and in a more serious mood, he said,” But then I don’t walk out there on the mound to lose.”

The Cooleemee native, like any other player, wanted to reach the majors. Eaton’s ambition has been realized and he’s starting back down the ladder, a procedure that is inevitable. But, unlike many of the veterans who have chummed around with the big boys Zeb still has that big desire to win, whether it’s with Detroit or seventh-place Greenwood.

“I’ve been on both winning and losing clubs,” he said, “and let me tell you it’s a nice feeling to be winning. By winning you’re happier, the fans, bless ‘em, are happier and it simply makes the entire situation better.”

Even with a seventh-place finisher last summer, happy-go-lucky Zeb fired an unusual number of victories, 13. He dropped 16, most of them by the narrowest of margins.

“I’ve no complaints, though,” observed Eaton, “because I enjoyed pitching at Greenwood. As a matter of fact, I enjoy pitching, even if it’s batting practice pitching.”

In addition to his rating as a pretty good righthanded hurler, Zeb last year held the distinction of being the best-hitting pitcher in the Tri-State. One year at Birmingham Eaton was one of the Barons’ regular outfielders. Last Saturday night in Shelby he smacked an out-of-the-park homer and he’s shown surprising early-season plate power.

Zeb lost on opening night, 10-5, and lost 10-4 in his next start, while hitting a home run. After going to a 1-5 record in early May he got warmed up, and after pitching a one-hitter on June 9 his record stood at 7-6. On June 23 the Gazette reported:

Tonight, Veteran Zeb Eaton goes in search of his ninth win of the season against the Rebels at 8 o’clock. Early Saturday, President Bobby Hipps of the Tri-State announced that Eaton had been placed on a seven-days’ suspended list for fighting with Charlotte Third Baseman Tom Marino here Thursday [19^th] night. Several hours later, though, he reversed his original decision, stating that Zeb would be eligible to play. Hipps said, however, that he would wage a full-scale investigation in reference to the fisticuffs display here between the Hornets and Rockets…

The July 2 Sporting News reported on the incident, as well as an incident between two different teams the following night:

Free-for-Alls in Tri-State on Two Consecutive Nights

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Tri-State League experienced two of the wildest nights in its seven-year history, June 19-20, when free-for-alls involving players and fans enlivened contests at Gastonia and Greenville.

Zeb Eaton, veteran hurler, touched off the first melee at Gastonia. On being relieved, Eaton strolled to second base, where he swung at Tom Marino, Charlotte third sacker, who had been nicked by a pitched ball a few moments earlier. Although an estimated 300 persons joined in the fracas, Orlando Echevarria, Charlotte catcher, was the only casualty. Seven stitches were taken in his lip and his arm was put in a sling because of a pulled muscle…

Zeb did serve a suspension, but less than seven days, as he returned from it on June 28. On July 4 the Gazette said that he could hit 20 wins, but on the 15^th they reported that he was “having trouble galore getting that 10^th win.” Through July 27 he had an 11-9 record, and was hitting .202, but after that his season took another upturn. He ended up with a 16-11 record and 4.00 ERA in 227 innings in 35 games, 29 of them starts, and was third in the league with 166 strikeouts. He played in 53 games total and hit .224/.371/.371, with more walks than hits. Gastonia finished in first place and played third-place Spartanburg in the first round of the playoffs. Zeb won the opener 2-1, in ten innings, when he hit a home run to tie the game in the ninth and the Rockets scored again in the tenth. But Spartanburg won the series three games to one, Zeb losing game four, 4-0.

On March 18, 1953, the Rockets’ business manager announced that Zeb had been placed on the voluntary retired list. On the 25^th Ken Alexander of the Gazette, discussing the Rockets’ lack of pitching, mentioned, with an interesting aside, that “Zeb Eaton has been placed on the voluntary retired list and whether you cared for the red-head or not, his 16-11 record is still there.”

Zeb and his family moved to Buffalo, Marjorie’s home town, where Zeb worked as a machinist and played amateur baseball. Then, as the Sporting News reported on August 1, 1956:

Zeb Eaton, 36-year-old former major leaguer, has come back from the local amateur ranks to help out the injury-riddled Bisons. Eaton, who went up to Detroit from Buffalo a decade ago, volunteered to join the Herd, July 20, when he began a two-week vacation from his job as a machinist at Curtiss-Wright…In his debut the next night, Eaton held Rochester to one run and three hits in a five-inning relief stint as the Bisons took a 12 to 7 trimming. In addition, he chipped in a double and a single in three trips. Following his impressive showing, Eaton announced he would seek a leave of absence from his job to finish out the season…[all ellipses part of original article]

Zeb also played some outfield for the Bisons, and on August 1 was put on the DL after “he injured his knee in crashing against the right field wall while making a circus catch.” On August 20 he was reactivated, and he did finish out the season. He played in 11 games, five as a pitcher; he didn’t pitch enough innings to appear in the pitching stats, but was 4-for-13 with two doubles at the plate. He then went back under the radar until the July 30, 1958, issue of the Sporting News:

Zeb Eaton, former Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit pitcher, was suspended for the remainder of the season recently by the Buffalo (N.Y.) Municipal Association for allegedly pushing an umpire during an argument. Eaton had been playing the outfield in the Washington-Mercer League.

In 1965 Zeb got some newspaper attention after Frank Howard hit a home run into the upper deck at Yankee Stadium; he was named as one of the few people to do it previously, along with Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Tom Tresh, Steve Bilko, and Gus Zernial. In September of 1974 the syndicated “Sports Hot Line” column by Mickey Herskowitz and Steve Perkins included the following question:

Q. Over 30 years ago the Detroit Tigers had a couple of pitchers who, to me, were colorful. Jim Tobin pitched quite a few games and hit an occasional home run. Zeb Eaton never pitched an inning to my knowledge but was called upon many times as a pinch-hitter. Can you tell me what became of these players?—Merle E. Knowlton, Wyoming, Mich.

A. Jim Tobin, who died in 1969, hit 17 homers in 396 at-bats. Zebulon V. Eaton won four and lost two for Detroit in 1944-45, and had two pinch-hit home runs. Eaton is now 54 and his last known address was 158 Hartford, Buffalo, N.Y. Under the new designated hitter rule neither of these fellows would have hit for Detroit.

On June 14, 1980, Zeb played in a two-inning old-timers’ game at Wrigley Field between members of the 1945 Tigers and Cubs. On December 17, 1989, he passed away in West Palm Beach at the age of 69. From the January 4, 1990, Davie County Enterprise Record:

Zebulon Vance Eaton

Zebulon Vance Eaton (Sam), who once pinch hit for the Detroit Tigers in a 1945 World Series game, died Sunday Dec. 17 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He was born Feb. 2, 1920 in Cooleemee and lived with his late aunt and uncle, Cap and Emily Gullet.

He is survived by: his wife, Marjorie L. Eaton of West Palm Beach, Fla. and Kenmone N.Y.; three sons, Donald Z. Eaton of Newtown, Pa., Gordon A. Eaton of Pensacola, Fla., and Dr. John H. Eaton of Atlanta, Ga.; five grandchildren; two sisters, Mary Shore, Mocksville, and Frances Fisher, Salisbury; one brother, Clarence McDaniel; and a close cousin who grew up with him, Ruth Davis of Mocksville.

Funeral services were held Friday, Dec. 22 at Wedekindts Funeral Home, Kenmone, N.Y. Burial was in Elmlawn Cemetery, Kenmone.

On January 29 the Sporting News ran their obituary:

Zebulon (Zeb) Eaton, who had a brief major league career with the Detroit Tigers as a relief pitcher and pinch-hitter in the mid-1940s, then pitched and played in the outfield in the minors an additional 10 years, died December 18 [17] in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69.

Eaton was 0-0 with the Tigers in 1944 and 4-2 in 17 games in 1945. A career that began with much promise hit two snags, the first a 20-month stay in the Army before Eaton was discharged because of flat feet and a sinus condition, the second a serious beaning suffered in 1947 when he was hitting .359 with the Tigers’ Southern League [Association] affiliate in Birmingham, Ala., and was being considered as a Detroit outfielder of the future.

Eaton suffered nerve damage and partial loss of vision in one eye from the beaning. He was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies’ [Athletics] organization in 1949, and finished his playing career—as a pitcher—with Buffalo (International) in 1956.

While pitching for the Tigers in 1945, Eaton hit a grand slam off the New York Yankees’ Hank Borowy, a blow that so incensed Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy that he placed Borowy on waivers. Hank was claimed by the Chicago Cubs [actually he was sold], who went on to play the Tigers in the World Series that fall. Borowy faced Eaton just once in the Series, and struck him out.

Eaton had worked as a volunteer fireman and recreation maintenance supervisor in Buffalo until he retired to Florida. He had undergone bypass surgery three times in the last eight years.

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