Danny Litwhiler collection

Collection

Identifier: UA-17.312

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This scrapbook contains newspaper articles on Danny Litwhiler's baseball career. There are articles recording his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Boston Braves. The articles cover his game statistics, his injuries, team photographs, and special events that Litwhiler attended, as well as newsprint cartoons of Litwhiler. There is also a picture of an awarded golden catchers mitt, and a number of badges from the Baseball Federation and the Olympic committee, as well as sketched caricatures of Litwhiler. Included in the collection as well is a certificate of appreciation from the Elk Lodge of Lansing. Included in the front is an envelope with two of Litwhiler's baseball cards and his business card.

Dates

Creation: 1940 - 1979

Creator

Litwhiler, Danny (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Biographical/Historical

Daniel Webster Litwhiler (1916-2011) was born in Ringtown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Bloomsburg State Teachers' College (now Bloomsburg University) in 1938.

Litwhiler played Major League Baseball from 1940-1951. He was an outfielder for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. He is believed to be the first player to have stitched together the fingers of his glove. He was selected for the All Star game in 1942 while playing for the Phillies. Litwhiler set a Major League record for an error-free season. He played in the 1944 World Series while on the Cardinals roster.

Litwhiler coached baseball at Florida State University from 1955-1963 and at Michigan State University from 1964-1982. He served as the international president for the U.S. Baseball Federation from 1978-1983. He is credited with inventing a radar gun to measure pitching speed. The radar gun and his baseball glove are in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.