Fritsch: Diamond Detour

Highlights from previous segment

• Fritsch’s standout 1943 preseason play against Washington and the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh combine drew comparisons to Clarke Hinkle, and he closed out the season with solid numbers as the Packers went 7-2-1.

• That December, NFL press agent George Strickler publicly accused colleges of luring pro players with matching salaries, naming Fritsch as a possible target, and a subsequent investigation found no evidence.

“Ted Fritsch, fullback of the Green Bay Packers professional football team will report next Wednesday to the Los Angeles baseball club of the Pacific Coast league, a subsidiary of the Chicago Cubs,” the Leader-Telegram reported in March 1944.

“Fritsch, whose home is at Spencer, Wis., attracted the attention of a number of major league ball clubs last summer, among them the Cubs, Phillies, Braves and Reds, when he batted .457 for the Bowman Dairy team in the Madison Industrial league.”

At 22, Fritsch was a sturdy five feet, 11 inches tall and 210 pounds.

At the end of the previous season, Fritsch had also worked out with the Phillies, but ultimately decided on the Cubs franchise.

Fritsch was placed in the No. 4 cleanup position by Angels Manager Will Sweeney, and quickly showed what he could do with the bat and in the outfield.

“Fritsch, a right-handed hitting outfielder who performed on the gridiron last fall for the Green Bay Packers, turned the spotlight on himself by belting two tremendous pokes over the left field wall during his first try at batting practice,” the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

But in April, The Daily Tribune reported that Fritsch was unhappy with the lack of playing time he was getting.

“’I came out here to play baseball,’ Ted grumbled to some of his teammates in the Angels dugout as the 1943 champions of the Pacific Coast league were completing their rout of Hollywood in the opening series between the cross-town rivals. ‘I am chained to the dugout,’” the publication reported.

“Regardless of how I come out with the Angels, I’m going to play pro football again next fall with Green Bay,” Fritsch added. “I like baseball, but I like to keep busy, too, and there’s plenty (of) action in pro football.”

In May, Fritsch was traded to the Nashville team in the Southern association.

“[Manager Larry Gilbert] decided to give Fritsch a trial and the first night he performed, the former Bowman outfielder drove out a homer, triple and double in four times at bat,” The Capital Times reported.

“Portsmouth officials called Manager Gilbert the next morning asking when Fritsch would be available. ‘I think it will be a long time before we let Fritsch go,’ said Gilbert.”

To be continued