Zip Zabel
Pitcher
Born: (1891-02-18)February 18, 1891
Wetmore, Kansas, U.S.
Died: May 31, 1970(1970-05-31) (aged 79)
Beloit, Wisconsin, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 5, 1913, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1915, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Win–loss record12–14
Earned run average2.71
Strikeouts110
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Holds the major league record for relief innings in a single game, 18+1⁄3 innings

George Washington "Zip" Zabel (February 18, 1891 – May 31, 1970) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of three seasons in Major League Baseball in 1913-15 for the Chicago Cubs.

Zabel attended Baker University, in Baldwin City, Kansas, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1916 in chemistry.[1]

On June 17, 1915, Zabel set the record for most innings pitched in relief in one game. He came into the game in relief for Bert Humphries with two outs in the first inning, and pitched the final 18+1⁄3 innings to earn the win over the Brooklyn Robins (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) and opposing pitcher Jeff Pfeffer, who pitched the complete game.[2]

After that game, Zabel only played one more start in the majors, as he had begun to experience arm trouble as a result of the game. He then played two years in the minors in Los Angeles and Toronto before retiring from baseball in July 1917. Afterwards, he went to work for Fairbanks Morse in Beloit, Wisconsin, where he eventually rose to the position of chief metallurgist. He continued to work there in various capacities for the next 32 years.

After moving to Beloit, he played for their city baseball team for a season.

In 1919, Zabel became a referee for Beloit's city football team. The only game he is infamously known for as a referee is the game between the Green Bay Packers and Beloit on November 23. In the game he was accused of many bad calls by George Calhoun, Green Bay's manager. Those calls included mistakenly adding 5 seconds to the clock before half time, taking away a Packers touchdown by instead placing the ball at the 2, calling a non-existent offsides penalty on the Packers on the subsequent play, which also would have been a touchdown, and not calling fan interference when a fan stepped on the field and tripped Packers quarterback Orlo McLean, who was running downfield.

Notes

  1. ↑ Kansas City Star (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "The Best Games Pitched in Relief". research.sabr.org.

References

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