Carl Spongberg
| Carl Spongberg | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: May 21, 1884 Idaho Falls, Idaho | |
| Died: July 21, 1938 (aged 54) Los Angeles, California | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 1, 1908, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 1, 1908, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0–0 |
| Earned run average | 9.00 |
| Strikeouts | 4 |
| Teams | |
Carl Gustave Spongberg[1] (May 21, 1884 – July 21, 1938) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs.[2] He was the first Idaho-born player in MLB history.[3]
Spongberg pitched for a team based in Montpelier, Idaho[4] before catching on with a club in Utah in 1907, where he was described in the Salt Lake Herald as a "Young Phenom."[5] He left Utah in 1908 to join the Northwestern League club in Aberdeen, Washington[6] but could not crack a pitching staff that included Bill Brinker, Con Starkel and Gus Thompson. He was released and went to work on the railroads while playing baseball in a Sunday league.[7] By that summer, he was pitching for a team in Ogden, Utah. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs in late July of 1908.[8]
On August 1, 1908, he appeared in the only game of his MLB career in Boston against Joe Kelley's Doves. He entered the game in the second inning in relief of Chick Fraser and allowed seven runs in seven innings. He also recorded two hits off of Cecil Ferguson.[9]
Later that month, he was farmed out to a club in Springfield, Illinois.[10] He finished the season pitching in Salt Lake City.[11] He returned to Springfield in the spring of 1909 but was released and returned west to pitch in Grand Junction, Colorado.[12] In July 1909, Spongberg sprained his ankle while trying to walk more than 20 miles (32 km) from Collbran, Colorado, where his team had just played, to De Beque, Colorado, where his team's next game was scheduled.[13]
On May 1, 1913, he was married in Salt Lake City to Jean Leishman of Logan, Utah. At the time, he had been working for Walker Brothers bank in Salt Lake City for two years.[14] Later in the 1910s, he ran a grocery store in Montpelier while playing baseball locally.[15][16] By 1921, he was managing a wholesale office in Pocatello, Idaho.[17] By 1927, he was managing a Western States Grocery Company warehouse in Bakersfield, California.[18] In 1935, he moved from Oregon to Denver to work as a divisional manager for Safeway.[19] He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles in 1938.[20]
References
- ^ "SPONGBERG". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. July 22, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ^ Players Born in Idaho - Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ "Montpelier Defeated Cumberland Tuesday in One of the Best Ever Played Here". Montpelier Examiner. June 2, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg Pitched a Winning Game of Ball at Salt Lake Monday". Montpelier Examiner. May 10, 1907. p. 8. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg left Salt Lake". Montpelier Examiner. April 3, 1908. p. 7. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Spongberg Writes About Base Ball". Montpelier Examiner. May 22, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Chicago Nationals Sing Spongberg". The Salt Lake Herald. July 25, 1908. p. 10. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs vs Boston Doves Box Score: August 1, 1908". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Spongberg Still in Demand". Montpelier Examiner. August 21, 1908. p. 2. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Salt Lake Defeated Again". The Morning Examiner. September 21, 1908. p. 6. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg who was recently released". Montpelier Examiner. May 28, 1909. p. 9. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg Sprains an Ankle". Montpelier Examiner. June 25, 1909. p. 6. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Marriage of Leishman". Deseret News. May 5, 1913. p. 5. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Fresh Vegetables". Montpelier Examiner. July 21, 1916. p. 5. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Ball League Opens with Good Games". Montpelier Examiner. June 6, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Carl Spongberg has returned". Montpelier Examiner. February 11, 1921. p. 10. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Wholesale Grocery to Benefit Ranchers Over Breadth of Kern County". Bakersfield Morning Echo. January 9, 1927. p. 6. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Blackaby New Buyer for Local Safeway Stores". The Oregon Daily Journal. February 10, 1935. p. 4. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Obituary for Carl G. Spongberg". The Salt Lake Tribune. July 23, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference · Retrosheet