Clyde Vollmer, Former MLB Outfielder
Bill Schenley
Player in 1940s and 1950s
1951 Bowman (#91) baseball card:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/autoweek/auto7.jpg
FROM: The Cincinnati Enquirer ~
By Rebecca Goodman, Staff Writer
FLORENCE
The Cincinnati Reds will display a temporary plaque in memory of Clyde
Frederick Vollmer, a former outfielder who was one of only two players
in the club's history to hit a home run his first time at bat in the
Major Leagues.
The plaque will hang in the lobby of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
and Museum.
Mr. Vollmer, 85, died Monday at St. Luke Hospital in Florence. Although
he was a longtime West Sider, he had been living in Florence with his
daughter.
Born in Cincinnati on Sept. 24, 1921, Mr. Vollmer played a leading role
for the Bridgetown School when it won the Hamilton County Grade School
baseball championship in 1935, according to a publication called "News
of the Reds" dated May 20, 1947.
Mr. Vollmer graduated from Western Hills High School in 1938 and signed
as an amateur free agent with the Reds the following year.
Standing 6-feet-1 and weighing 190 pounds, he was nicknamed "Big 'Un"
by his teammates. He hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat on
May 31, 1942, but he wouldn't hit another until 1947. After the 1942
season, he spent three years with the Army during World War II. He was
back on the Reds roster for the 1946 season.
The Reds traded him to the Washington Senators on Sept. 27, 1948. He
was traded to the Boston Red Sox in May 1950 and purchased by the
Senators in April 1953. He played his last game on Sept. 1, 1954.
His 10-season batting average was .251.
Mr. Vollmer owned the Lark Lounge for more than 20 years.
He was a member of the American Legion, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
Cheviot Aerie No. 2197 and the Delhi Senior Citizens.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Margaret "Maggie" Vollmer; a
daughter, Claudia Vollmer of Florence; and a brother, Howard Vollmer.
Visitation is 9:30 a.m. Saturday followed by the funeral at 10:30 a.m.
at Gump-Holt Funeral Home, 3440 Glenmore Ave. in Cheviot. The American
Legion will conduct a service at 10 a.m. Entombment will be at St.
Joseph (old) Cemetery in Price Hill.
---
1952 Topps (#255) baseball card:
http://1952toppsbaseballcards.com/255.jpg
Stats: http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vollmcl01.shtml
<Thanks to Rod Nelson from SABR for this obit.>
Rick B.
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> Mr. Vollmer, 85, died Monday at St. Luke Hospital in Florence. Although
> he was a longtime West Sider, he had been living in Florence with his
> daughter.
The newspaper obit is dated October 6, making his date of death October 2.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/AB/20061006/NEWS0104/610060381/