Ossie Bluege

Positions: Third Baseman, Shortstop and Second Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-11, 162lb (180cm, 73kg)
Born: October 24, 1900 in Chicago, IL us
Died: October 14, 1985 in Edina, MN
Buried: Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN
High School: Schurz HS (Chicago, IL)
Debut: April 24, 1922 (5,441st in major league history)
vs. BOS 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: July 13, 1939
vs. SLB 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Oswald Louis Bluege
Pronunciation: \BLUE-jee\

View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1922

Jim Bottomley
Gabby Hartnett
Ossie Bluege
Travis Jackson
Sparky Adams
George Grantham
Fats Fothergill
Fred Haney
Andy High

The Ossie Bluege Teammate Team

C: Rick Ferrell
1B: Joe Judge
2B: Buddy Myer
3B: Buddy Lewis
SS: Cecil Travis
LF: Goose Goslin
CF: Sam West
RF: Sam Rice
SP: Walter Johnson
SP: Tom Zachary
SP: Sad Sam Jones
SP: Earl Whitehill
RP: Firpo Marberry
M: Bucky Harris

Notable Events and Chronology

Biography

“If it’s a ground ball, I can field it,” said the rookie shortstop in 1922 when asked if he could adjust to playing third. He spoke truly. Bluege (pronounced Blu-ghy) held down third base at Washington for much of the following 17 years. His numbers were modest, but he was consistent and mild. He neither smoke nor drank, and was an accountant in the off-season, with Washington’s best hotels among his clients. Clark Griffith, the Senators’ frugal owner, feared that poring over figures would ruin Bluege’s batting eye, and ordered him to quit. As he never earned over $10,000, Bluege couldn’t afford to.

Bluege was Griffith’s organization man. After playing, he was a Senator coach (1940-42), manager (1943-47, including two well-handled second-place finishes), and farm director (1948-56). From 1957-71, for the Senators and Twins, he was club comptroller. Ossie’s younger brother, Otto, or “Squeaky,” had one season plus one game as a Cincinnati shortstop.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Ossie Bluege spent five decades in the employment of the Griffith family, first as a ballplayer, then as a manager, and finally, in the front office, where he served so long he moved with the franchise to Minnesota. Bluege was a slick third baseman who stayed in the major leagues for 18 seasons almost exclusively because of his glovework and played in all three of the World Series that the Senators ever appeared in. At the hot corner, Bluege led the American League in double plays on three occasions and assists four times.

Played For
Washington Senators (1922-1939)

Managed
Washington Senators (1943-1947)

A popular player, Bluege ascended from the coaching staff to become the Nats’ manager in 1943, replacing Bucky Harris. In his first season, 1943, Bluege improved Washington’s win total by 22 games. He coaxed two second place finishes out of his team, before becoming the Senators farm director in 1948. His biggest coup in that role was the scouting and signing of Harmon Killebrew.

Similar: Milt Stock, Harry Steinfeldt, Ken Reitz

Linked: Joe Judge and Sam Rice were Ossie’s teammates for eight seasons apiece during the heyday of the Nats… Second baseman Buddy Myer played with Bluege for 14 years… Bluege twice lost his starting job to Cecil Travis… The emergence of teenager Buddy Lewis in 1936 sent Bluege to the bench. In the last four seasons of his career, Bluege was essentially a utility man.

Post-Season Appearances
1924 World Series
1925 World Series
1933 World Series

Factoid
From 1957 to 1971, Ossie Bluege served as the Senators/Twins controller, or comptroller, handling the budgetary process and finances of the club. He retired in 1971 after having worked 50 years for the Griffith family.

Feats: Bluege, who was selective at the plate, walked five times on July 18, 1932, tying an American League record.

Transactions
Bluege spent 50 years on the payroll of the Senators, and then Twins.

“The Toughest Pitchers I Faced” by Ossie Bluege
In 1946, Bluege gave The Sporting News a list of the top ten toughest pitchers he ever faced, in no particular order:

Tommy Bridges, Bob Feller, Lefty Gomez, Lefty Grove, Waite Hoyt, Walter Johnson, Ted Lyons, Hal Newhouser, Herb Pennock and Red Ruffing.

All-Star Selections
1935 AL

Replaced
Bobby LaMotte and the veteran Howie Shanks, who shared the hot corner for Washington in 1922.

Replaced By
Ultimately, Buddy Lewis.

Best Strength as a Player
Walter Johnson, who was Bluege’s teammate for several years and managed him for four seasons, said of Ossie: “He has the quickest hands of any infielder I’ve ever seen. He can get his glove in the dirt so fast, the batter doesn’t have a chance.”

Largest Weakness as a Player
Only once in his career was Bluege above league average offensively. That was in 1928, when his adjusted OPS was 101, or just barely better than an average AL hitter.

Coming Soon 

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