Dec. 11, 1964 - Southpaw pitcher Bobby Shantz, who broke into big league baseball with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1949 and played with six other major league teams before returning to Philadelphia last August as a member of the Phillies, announced his retirement today.
The 39-year-old Shantz, who was the American League’s top pitcher and Most Valuable Player in 1952 when he posted a 24-7 record with the A’s, decided to call it a career because he didn’t feel he could do the job as he liked to do it.
The 5-7, 151-pound Shantz disclosed his decision in a letter to Phillies general manager John Quinn, in which he thanked both Quinn and manager Gene Mauch for bringing him back to Philadelphia “so I could finish my career where it started.” He expressed regret that he couldn’t help the Phils win the National League Pennant.
Always rated one of the game’s best fielding pitchers, Shantz had won the Golden Glove every year since 1957. Altogether, he won 119 major league games and lost 99. Ninety of the victories came during his 12 years in the American League.
When the Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1954, Bobby went with them. But in 1957, he was traded to the Yankees, with whom he competed in two World Series, in 1957 and 1960.
In December 1960, he was drafted by Washington in the American League expansion and, two days later, he was traded to the Pirates. The following year, he went to Houston in the National League expansion draft.
Bobby was traded to the Cardinals in 1962 and, early last year, was sent to the Cubs, from whom the Phils purchased him last August 15.
A native of Pottstown, Pa., Shantz now lives in Ambler, where he operates a bowling alley in partnership with former Athletics’ catcher Joe Astroth.
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