| John Oldham | |
|---|---|
| Pinch runner | |
| Born: November 6, 1932 Salinas, California |
|
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 2, 1956 for the Cincinnati Redlegs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 2, 1956 for the Cincinnati Redlegs | |
| Career statistics | |
| Games played | 1 |
| At bats | 0 |
| Teams | |
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John Hardin Oldham (born November 6, 1932 in Salinas, California) is a former Major League Baseball player who had one of the shortest baseball careers in the history of the game. Oldham batted right and threw left-handed. Although he was a pitcher during all of his professional career, Oldham's only MLB appearance came as a pinch runner for the Cincinnati Redlegs in the 1956 season.
Oldham was signed by the Redlegs out of San Jose State University in 1954 as a pitcher. He spent that season with the minor league Columbia Reds of the South Atlantic League. In 1955, he pitched for the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, where he had a record of 9-6 and an earned run average of 3.84.
He entered a game on September 2, 1956 against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Crosley Field in Cincinnati as a pinch runner for Ted Kluszewski, who himself had pinch-hit for third baseman Alex Grammas. The next batter popped out and Oldham was replaced on defense by Rocky Bridges.[1] Although he pitched for three more seasons in the minor leagues, his MLB career was over.