Howie Fox
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Howard Francis Fox (March 1, 1921 - October 9, 1955) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between the 1944 and 1954 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 210 lb., Fox batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Coburg, Oregon.
A hard thrower with a sharp curveball, Fox was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in 1943 out of the University of Oregon. He entered the majors in 1945 with the Reds, playing for them seven years before joining the Philadelphia Phillies (1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1954). His most productive season came in 1950 for Cincinnati, when he went 11-8, a year after his 6-19 record made him the losingest pitcher in the major leagues. In 1951 he collected nine victories with a 3.83 ERA in a career-high 228 innings, but got 14 losses.
Before the 1952 season, Fox was dealt to Philadelphia in a seven-player transaction that included Smoky Burgess, Eddie Pellagrini, Connie Ryan, Andy Seminick and Dick Sisler. In 1953 he played for Triple-A Baltimore, and a year later pitched his last majors season for the Orioles.
In nine major league seasons career, Fox posted a 43-72 record with 342 strikeouts and a 4.33 ERA in 248 appearances, including 132 starts, 42 complete games, five shutouts, six saves, and 1,108⅓ innings of work. A good-hitting pitcher, he was used to pinch-hit periodically. In 253 games he hit .189 with two home runs and 25 RBI.
Fox also played in the Venezuelan Winter League (1953-55) and in the 1954 Caribbean Series. After pitching in the Texas League in 1955, he was stabbed to death while fighting with three men in a tavern near to San Antonio, Texas. He was 34 years old at the time of his death.
