Twink Twining

American baseball player (1894–1973)

Baseball player

Twink Twining

Captain of the baseball team at Swarthmore College, c. 1916

Pitcher
Born: (1894-05-30)May 30, 1894
Horsham, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: June 14, 1973(1973-06-14) (aged 79)
Lansdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut
July 9, 1916, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
July 9, 1916, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Games played| 1
Earned run average| 13.50
Innings pitched| 2.0
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams

* Cincinnati Reds (1916)

Howard Earle "Twink" Twining (May 30, 1894 – June 14, 1973) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played one game in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. He played baseball and basketball at Swarthmore College and later became a prominent dermatologist.

## Early life

[edit]

1916 yearbook vignette with "Twink" as manager of the football team

Howard Earle Twining was born on May 30, 1894, in Horsham, Pennsylvania.[1] He attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and became a "well-known" athlete in the area while playing baseball and basketball.[2] He initially played second base at Swarthmore but then switched to pitcher and became a "star".[2][3] He led the baseball team to wins over Penn and Michigan in three days in 1914; the win over Penn was the first time they ever accomplished it in school history.[2][4] In basketball, he served as team captain, and Twining was also the manager of the football team.[2]

Twining led the baseball team to several more victories against Penn in the 1915 season and also led the basketball team to wins over schools such as Army and Rutgers.[5][6][7] The Evening Public Ledger described him as one of the three best pitchers in college baseball.[8] Nicknamed "Twink" and "Twig", he threw right and batted right-handed.[1][9]

## Professional baseball career

[edit]

After having graduated from Swarthmore in 1915, Twining began his professional baseball career with a team in Chester, Pennsylvania.[10] He also played for a team in Media, Pennsylvania, that year and for the Salisbury team of the independent Peninsula League.[11][12] With Salisbury, he was the starting pitcher in an exhibition win over the Connie Mack-led Philadelphia Athletics.[12][13]

In June 1916, Twining was signed by Buck Herzog, manager of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball, after having been told about Twining by a scout.[14][15] He did not make his debut until over a month after signing with the team, being the closing pitcher in a 10–3 loss to the Brooklyn Robins.[16] The Cincinnati Post noted that the game "was a nightmare for Red fans" and reported that Twining "had nothing with which to deceive the [Robins] ... He displayed a nice pitching motion but the Dodgers had no trouble hitting his offerings."[16] He pitched two innings of the game and had an earned run average of 13.50, facing 11 batters while allowing three runs.[1] He was released by the Reds several days later, with The Pittsburgh Press reported that he had "been with the Reds for over a month without having the slightest chance to make good or to start a game."[17]

After being released by Cincinnati, Twining later spent time in 1916 with a team called "Carney's Point" in Delaware.[18] He played for the Upland team of Upland, Pennsylvania, in 1917.[19] The following year, he was a member of the Sun team in the Delaware River Shipbuilding League and also saw action with the "Chester Ship club".[20][21] He played for the Wilkinsburg Murdocks in 1920,[22] and for Glenside of the Philadelphia Suburban League from 1921 to 1922, helping them win two league championships.[23][24][25]

## Later life and death

[edit]

Twining attended Hahnemann Medical School and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1919.[26] He received dermatology training in Vienna and became a prominent dermatologist in Pennsylvania.[26][27] He wrote articles published in medical journals, headed the Hahnemann Medical School department of dermatology and was president of the Philadelphia Dermatological Society.[26][28] He was a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and served at various hospitals, including in Abington, Hahnemann and Wilmington, and at the Skin and Cancer, Philadelphia General and Naval Hospitals.[26] He was a 32nd degree mason.[26] He died on June 14, 1973, at the age of 78, from a long illness.[26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Twink Twining Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
2. ^ a b c d "Smoker In Gymnasium". The Brown and White. Vol. 22, no. 16\. November 13, 1914. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023 - via Lehigh University.
3. ^ "Little Quakers Baffle Penn For Twelve Innings--Lost 5-4". Delaware County Daily Times. April 7, 1913. p. 3\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Twining's Pitching Defeats Penn's Crack Club". Delaware County Daily Times. May 21, 1914. p. 10\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Swarthmore Defeats Penn". Delaware County Daily Times. April 21, 1915. p. 12\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Swarthmore Beats Rutgers". Newark Star-Eagle. January 16, 1915. p. 17\. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Quaker Five Swamps Army Team 25-11". Delaware County Daily Times. January 26, 1914. p. 3\. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Penn Baseball Team Has Struck Its Stride". Evening Public Ledger. May 7, 1915. p. 13 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Salisbury vs. Phillies". Every Evening. October 21, 1915. p. 12\. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Chester Club Strengthened". Delaware County Daily Times. July 2, 1915. p. 5\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Media Shuts Out Clifton". Delaware County Daily Times. July 6, 1915. p. 10\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ a b Simons, William M.; Hall, Alvin L., eds. (September 18, 2015). The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2002. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 36\. ISBN 9780786481712.
13. ^ "Earl Twining Beats Athletics". Press of Atlantic City. September 18, 1915. p. 11\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Swarthmore Star Signs With Cincinnati Reds". The Allentown Democrat. June 7, 1916. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Twining Wanted To Twirl A Full Game". The St. Louis Star and Times. June 24, 1916. p. 6\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ a b "Chase Drives In All the Red Runs In Second Game". The Cincinnati Post. July 10, 1916. p. 6\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "Pitcher Twining Released". The Pittsburgh Press. July 19, 1916. p. 16\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
18. ^ "Double Header Today". Every Evening. September 23, 1916. p. 11\. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
19. ^ "Upland Rallies In Ninth Round". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 1, 1917. p. 22\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
20. ^ "Hobey Light Playing In Shipbuilding League". Lebanon Daily News. June 24, 1918. p. 6\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
21. ^ "Chester To Battle Hard To Hold First Position". Delaware County Daily Times. August 9, 1918. p. 13\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
22. ^ "Wilkinsburg Murdocks To Be Saturday Attraction; Victory Means Much Fame". The Daily Courier. August 4, 1920. p. 14\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
23. ^ "Cannot Break Glenside's Streak". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 24, 1921. p. 20\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
24. ^ "Glenside Champions in Suburban Again". North Penn Review. September 5, 1922. p. 7\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
25. ^ "Glenside Champs Beaten in Suburban Opener". North Penn Reporter. April 23, 1923. p. 7\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
26. ^ a b c d e f "Howard Twining, 78, Hahnemann Doctor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 17, 1973. p. 30\. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
27. ^ "Garnet 'Sunshine Boys' pursue winning season". Delaware County Daily Times. March 31, 1976. p. 13\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
28. ^ Stafford, Jane (July 18, 1941). "Your Good Health". Springfield Leader and Press. p. 5\. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.

## External links

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* Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Retrosheet
* Media related to Twink Twining at Wikimedia Commons

*[c.]: circa