Harvey Branch facts for kids

Harvey Alfred Branch was born on February 8, 1939. He is an American former professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher. He played for seven years in minor league baseball. But he only played one game in Major League Baseball. This happened on September 18, 1962, with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Harvey's Early Baseball Days

College Sports Star

Harvey Branch went to Alabama State University. There, he played both college baseball and basketball. He was a tall athlete, standing 6 feet (183 cm) and weighing 170 pounds (77 kg).

Starting His Pro Career

In 1958, Harvey signed with the Chicago Cubs. He spent five years playing in their minor league teams. He was a very good pitcher in the minor leagues. In 1962, he had a great season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions. He recorded 216 strikeouts in 237 innings pitched. A strikeout is when a pitcher throws three strikes past a batter.

Because of his success, the Cubs traded him. On September 1, 1962, he joined the St. Louis Cardinals. He was traded for another pitcher named Paul Toth.

His One Major League Game

A Special Debut

Just 17 days after joining the Cardinals, Harvey Branch got his chance. He made his Major League Baseball debut. He was the starting pitcher for the Cardinals. And guess who they were playing against? His old team, the Chicago Cubs! The game was at Wrigley Field.

How the Game Went

Harvey pitched for five innings in that game. Here's what happened:

• In the second inning, a Cubs player hit a home run off him. A home run is when a batter hits the ball out of the park.
• In the third inning, he gave up a walk. This means he threw four pitches outside the strike zone. This allowed a runner to score a run.
• In the fifth inning, he gave up another run. This happened after a triple (a hit where the batter reaches third base) and a ground ball out.

When Harvey left the game, the Cardinals were losing 3–1. He was replaced by a pinch hitter named Red Schoendienst.

The Final Score

Harvey Branch was the pitcher who took the loss in that game. The Cardinals ended up losing 4–3. The pitcher he was traded for, Paul Toth, actually got the win for the Cubs!

In his five innings, Harvey gave up five hits and three earned runs. An earned run is a run that scores because of the pitcher's actions. He also had five walks and two strikeouts. These numbers became his total career stats in Major League Baseball.

After the Major Leagues

Back to the Minors

After his one MLB game, Harvey Branch was still with the Cardinals. He was on their main roster for spring training in 1963. But he was sent to the Triple-A Atlanta Crackers for the whole season. He played in the minor leagues for 1963 and 1964. After that, he left professional baseball.