Daniel Webster Litwhiler (August 31, 1916 - September 23, 2011) was an American Major League baseball player who played outfield from 1940 to 1951. He played for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds. He was the first Major Leaguer to have an error-free season. That same season, 1942, he also became the first player to stitch together the fingers of his glove.

Early career

Before entering baseball, Litwhiler graduated from college, unlike most major leaguers at the time. He graduated from Bloomsburg State Teacher's College in 1938, earning a bachelor's degree in Science and Social Sciences. The baseball facility at Bloomsburg is named Danny Litwhiler Field.

Major League career

After finishing the 1941 season with a .308 batting average, he was selected to the All Star game in 1942, where had one hit in his only at-bat.

Litwhiler was traded to the Cardinals in 1943 and was a key player for them in the 1944 World Series against the St. Louis Browns. He played left field in five of the six games and had four hits with one RBI and one run scored.

Coaching career

Litwhiler coached at Florida State University from 1955 to 1963, and led them to three College World Series appearances.

Litwhiler coached at Michigan State University from 1964 to 1982, and holds the record for most wins by a coach in the school's history. Among his former players are Steve Garvey, Kirk Gibson and Rick Miller.

During his coaching career he invented a very effective method of drying baseball fields after rain using calcined clay as marketed as "Diamond Grit", enabling resumed play very quickly....saving millions of dollars over the decades for organized baseball. He also invented the use of the radar gun for timing pitches. This effectively revolutionized the game of baseball for pitchers. It first came on the market in collaboration with the Jugs company, known as the Jugs Gun.

Death

Litwhiler died September 23, 2011 in Clearwater, Florida at age 95.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]