Oswald Louis "Ossie" Bluege (icon; October 24, 1900 – October 14, 1985) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played his entire career for the Washington Senators

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 from 1922 through 1939. He was a member of the Senators' 1924 World Series

1924 World Series

In the 1924 World Series, the Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in seven games. The Giants became the first team to play in four consecutive World Series, winning in 1921–1922 and losing in 1923–1924. Their long-time manager, John McGraw, made his ninth and final World Series appearance...

 championship team, the franchise's only title before moving to Minnesota in 1961.

He was discovered by baseball promoter Joe Engel, who managed the Chattanooga Lookouts

Chattanooga Lookouts

The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...

 at Engel Stadium

Engel Stadium

Engel Stadium is a stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The stadium was built in 1930 and holds 12,000 people. It was the home of the Chattanooga Lookouts until 1999 when they moved to their current stadium, AT&T Field. Tennessee Temple University has held their home games at Engel since the Lookouts...

. He made his major league debut on April 24, 1922 and played his final game on July 13, 1939.

Bluege batted

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .272 in his career, but was chiefly known for his defensive ability, leading American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 third basemen in double play

Double play

In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....

s in three different seasons. His moonlighting job earned him the nickname "The Accountant" from teammates. Bluege's only All-Star

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 appearance, in 1935, came in a year which saw him primarily play shortstop for Washington.

After retiring in 1939, Bluege went on to manage

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 his former club from 1943 to 1947, compiling a career managerial record of 379-394, with two second-place finishes. In 1948, Bluege was named the Senators' farm director, where his greatest scouting coup was a young Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...

. In 1958 he became the team's comptroller

Comptroller

A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

, shortly before its relocation to Minneapolis as the Minnesota Twins. In 1971 he retired, having served the organization for 50 years.

Bluege died in 1985 in Edina, Minnesota

Edina, Minnesota

Edina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s. The population was 47,941 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

.

External links