Moe Burtschy – Baseball Player Biography, Career, Net Worth Information

Edward Frank “Moe” Burtschy carved out his own unique spot in baseball history during his five-year Major League run with the Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics from 1950 to 1956. Born in Cincinnati in 1922, this hard-throwing righty reliever got the nickname “Molasses Shoe”—he just couldn’t run fast, but his fastball more than made up for his slow feet.

Burtschy’s MLB journey had plenty of ups and downs. His powerful arm could overwhelm hitters, but his control issues always seemed to get in the way. The stats really tell the story: when he found the strike zone, he looked dominant, but wild pitches and walks haunted him throughout his time in the majors.

He didn’t get to start his pro career right away. World War II interrupted that path—he served on the USS Ticonderoga in the Pacific, putting baseball dreams on hold for a few years.

From his early days in the minors to his last season in 1956, Burtschy’s story really shows what players of his era had to deal with. You see the evolution of relief pitching, the impact of military service on athletes, and the sheer persistence it took to hang on to a roster spot in the ultra-competitive 1950s.

Early Life and Beginnings

Edward Frank Burtschy grew up in a working-class Cincinnati family, born April 18, 1922. At Roger Bacon High School, he played multiple sports, but his baseball talents really stood out and caught the eyes of major league scouts.

His promising career took a detour for World War II, where he served in the Pacific aboard the USS Ticonderoga.

Birth and Family Background

Edward Frank Burtschy entered the world on April 18, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the oldest of three kids and the only son of Edward William and Margaret E. (Miller) Burtschy.

The Burtschy family had deep Ohio roots. Edward’s great-grandfather immigrated from Germany in the 19th century and settled in the state. His dad, Edward William Burtschy, served in World War I with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe back in 1917.

After the war, Edward William landed a steady job as a railroad clerk. That job gave the family a stable income, supporting Margaret and their three children.

They lived simply, relying on Edward William’s railroad position to make ends meet.

High School Career

Burtschy went to Roger Bacon High School, a Franciscan school in Cincinnati founded in 1928. He was a standout in three sports—football, basketball, and baseball.

His athletic ability showed up across the board, but baseball really became his main thing. Scouts started noticing him for his pitching, which would end up shaping his future.

It’s pretty wild that professional scouts watched him even before he finished high school—that’s how much talent he had.

He graduated from Roger Bacon in 1940. By then, his baseball skills had already started opening doors to pro opportunities.

Military Service on USS Ticonderoga

In 1943, Burtschy enlisted in the US Navy as World War II raged on. He spent three years in the Pacific, serving mostly on the USS Ticonderoga.

The Ticonderoga, an Essex-class aircraft carrier, was commissioned in May 1944. Burtschy joined the crew as the ship took part in some crucial Pacific operations.

January 21, 1945, turned into one of the scariest days of his service. A Japanese kamikaze hit the Ticonderoga’s starboard side, killing or injuring 100 sailors. Burtschy survived because he wasn’t in his usual spot at the time.

The ship got repaired quickly and was back in action by April 1945. Four months later, Burtschy was still aboard when the Ticonderoga took part in attacks on Tokyo just before Japan surrendered.

Once the war ended, Burtschy came home and got back to chasing his baseball dreams.

Path to the Major Leagues

Moe Burtschy’s journey to Major League Baseball was anything but straightforward. He bounced through several organizations and served in the war. He put up strong minor league numbers, even though control issues kept popping up, and finally debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950.

Minor League Experience

Burtschy signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 after finishing high school. He got a short stint with the Dayton Ducks, then moved to the Ashland Colonels in the Mountain State League.

He walked nearly five batters per nine innings but still led the Class D circuit with a 2.46 ERA. Control problems followed him into 1942 with the Columbia Reds, where he racked up 14 wild pitches and hit 15 batters over 192 innings.

When World War II broke out, Burtschy enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He served three years in the Pacific on the USS Ticonderoga and survived a kamikaze attack in January 1945.

After the war, he bounced around. He went from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh in 1946, then to Philadelphia in 1947. His best minor league years came in 1948-49 with the Savannah Indians, where he pitched a league-leading 252 innings in 1948 and won 16 games, even with all the walks.

MLB Debut and Initial Challenges

The Philadelphia Athletics called Burtschy up on June 17, 1950, as the team slogged through a 102-loss season. He was already 28 when he made his MLB debut in Cleveland, walking the only batter he faced.

His early outings were a mixed bag. He kept opponents scoreless for four innings in a 21-2 blowout, but he also handed out seven walks and threw two wild pitches. On June 29, Ted Williams took him deep for a two-run homer in a wild 22-14 game.

Burtschy got his first start on August 1 against the White Sox in Chicago. He lasted just 2⅓ innings, giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks.

His rookie season wrapped up with a 7.11 ERA over 19 innings in nine games. In 1951, elbow surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital cut his season short and sidelined him for three years.

MLB Career Overview

Moe Burtschy pitched in the majors for five seasons, from 1950 to 1956, working as a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia and then Kansas City Athletics. He struggled with control—walks and wild pitches were constant—but he hung in there through injuries and team moves.

Philadelphia Athletics Years

Burtschy made his MLB debut on June 17, 1950, in Cleveland. He walked the only batter he saw that day.

His rookie year was tough. He finished with a 7.11 ERA in 19 innings over nine games. His only major league start came on August 1, and he lasted 2⅓ innings, giving up six runs.

He started 1951 strong, allowing just one unearned run in 8⅔ innings, but elbow pain in June shut him down. Surgery at Johns Hopkins took him out for three years.

He came back to Philly in 1954 at age 32. On his birthday, he tossed four scoreless innings against Boston, giving up just two hits. His first MLB win came on May 13 with two no-hit innings against Chicago.

1954 turned out to be his best year. He pitched in 46 games—one of the league’s busiest relievers—and finished 5-4 with a 3.80 ERA in 94⅔ innings.

Kansas City Athletics Transition

The Athletics moved to Kansas City before the 1955 season. Burtschy had a rough start there, with an ERA close to 10.00 by early May.

Kansas City sent him to the minors on May 11 during a roster shakeup. He’d allowed 17 hits and 10 walks in just 11⅓ innings, so they assigned him to Portland in the Pacific Coast League.

He turned things around in Portland, going 6-8 with a 3.02 ERA in 83⅓ innings. Manager Clay Hopper even called him one of the league’s best pitchers.

He returned to Kansas City for 1956. Manager Lou Boudreau pegged him as a key middle reliever.

Early that season, Burtschy looked sharp. By May 20, he was 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 12 games. The Sporting News even dubbed him the “No. 1 artist in the Athletics’ bull pen.”

But then the control issues flared up again. On May 26, he gave up eight earned runs and 12 hits to Detroit in six innings. Three days later, he walked five batters against Chicago without giving up a hit.

Pitching Roles and Positions

Burtschy almost always worked out of the bullpen—89 of his 90 big league outings came in relief, with just one start back in 1950.

He had a blazing fastball, but controlling it was another story. He often ranked among league leaders in walks, wild pitches, and hit batters compared to his innings pitched.

Career stats:

• 97 strikeouts in 185 innings
• 4.71 career ERA
• Four saves
• 10-6 record

At 6’3″ and 208 pounds, he earned the “Molasses Shoe” nickname for his slow running. His control issues just became part of his reputation—walks and wild pitches were regular features in his outings.

That 1954 season showed what he could do when healthy. He hit eight batters and threw seven wild pitches in 94⅔ innings over 46 games, but still kept a respectable 3.80 ERA.

He made his final MLB appearance in 1956. After some struggles with consistency, Burtschy retired at 36, closing out his five-year big league career with the Athletics.

Statistical Performance and Analysis

Moe Burtschy put up modest numbers in his five seasons with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics from 1950 to 1956. His 185.1 innings and 4.71 ERA were about what you’d expect from a relief pitcher in that era. He tallied 97 strikeouts and 4 saves, working mostly as a situational bullpen guy.

Innings Pitched and Workload

Burtschy threw 185.1 innings over 90 major league games. His workload jumped around, depending on the season.

His busiest year was 1954, when he pitched 94.2 innings in 46 games. That was more than half his career total in one season.

Other years were much lighter. He pitched only 19 innings in 1950 and 17 in 1951.

His last two seasons, 1955 and 1956, saw him throw 11.1 and 43.1 innings, respectively. He started only one game in his entire major league career, and that was back in 1950.

ERA and Other Key Metrics

Burtschy put up a 4.71 ERA over his five seasons, and the numbers jumped around quite a bit from year to year.

He peaked in 1954, posting a 3.80 ERA during his busiest season.

1955 just didn’t go his way—he got tagged for a 10.32 ERA in only 11.1 innings, which probably says more about the small sample than anything else.

Burtschy’s WHIP of 1.640 shows he let plenty of runners on base.

He gave up 178 hits and handed out 126 walks across his career.

His record finished at 10 wins and 6 losses, so he ended up with a .625 winning percentage.

That 1954 season really stood out for him, as he picked up 5 wins and 4 losses.

Strikeouts and Saves

Burtschy struck out 97 batters during his time in the majors, which worked out to about 4.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

That number seems low next to what most relievers rack up these days.

In 1954, he managed 54 strikeouts in 94.2 innings, which was over half his career total.

He picked up 4 saves, all in 1954.

Since MLB didn’t officially track saves until 1969, these numbers come from retroactive stat-keeping.

Burtschy finished 50 games out of his 90 appearances, working mostly in middle relief.

He rarely got called in to close.

Career Highlights and Notable Moments

Moe Burtschy spent five years in the majors, and along the way he had his share of memorable games and run-ins with some of the game’s biggest names.

His best stats came in 1954, but the moments people remember usually involve him facing Hall of Famers.

Memorable Games

Burtschy made his major league debut on June 17, 1950.

He walked the only batter he saw against the Cleveland Indians.

The next day was a wild one—he threw four scoreless innings but walked seven and tossed two wild pitches during a lopsided 21-2 loss.

1954 really brought out his best.

On April 18, his 32nd birthday, he held the Red Sox to two hits over four shutout innings.

He kept pitching well into early May, keeping his ERA under 1.00.

Mickey Mantle left a big mark on Burtschy’s memory on May 21, 1956.

At Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, Mantle crushed a home run over the second fence in right, taking Burtschy deep as the Yankees won 8-5.

That blast matched shots hit to the same spot by Larry Doby and Harry Simpson.

Ted Williams also got the better of Burtschy.

On June 29, 1950, Williams hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning of a wild 22-14 game between the Athletics and Red Sox.

Awards and Recognition

Burtschy never picked up any major individual awards during his time in the big leagues.

In 1954, though, he ranked third in games finished with 30 and eighth in games pitched with 46 in the American League.

Bernie Guest, the Athletics’ farm director, praised Burtschy’s comeback in 1953.

“This is a new Burtschy,” Guest said after he bounced back with Ottawa following elbow surgery.

The Sporting News gave him a shout-out in 1956, noting that he had “come to the forefront among the relievers” and calling him “the No. 1 artist in the Athletics’ bull pen” through May 20.

Managers seemed to appreciate his durability, even if his control sometimes wobbled.

Burtschy appeared in 90 games over five seasons, finishing with a 10-6 record, a 4.71 ERA, and four saves.

Life After Baseball and Legacy

After he left professional baseball in 1958, Moe Burtschy moved back to Cincinnati, Ohio.

He lived a pretty quiet life there until he passed away in 2004.

Not much info is out there about what he did after baseball, but he stayed connected to his local community over the years.

Post-Retirement Career

Records don’t say much about Burtschy’s work life after his playing days.

Unlike some ex-players who went into coaching or broadcasting, Burtschy seems to have left baseball behind completely.

He settled back in Cincinnati, the city where he grew up.

He wrapped up his career at 36, after the Columbus Jets released him in March 1958.

A lot of players from his era took regular jobs—sales, construction, you name it.

But there’s no real documentation of what Burtschy did for work after baseball.

Personal Life and Family

Burtschy kept close ties to Cincinnati all his life.

He went to Roger Bacon High School in nearby St. Bernard, Ohio, before starting his pro baseball journey.

After retiring, he stayed out of the spotlight.

There’s not much out there about his marriage, kids, or family life.

He stuck around the Cincinnati area for the rest of his post-baseball years.

That suggests he liked being near his roots and the community where he grew up.

Compared to some former players who stayed in the public eye, Burtschy really preferred a quieter life.

Circumstances of Passing

Edward Frank “Moe” Burtschy died on May 2, 2004, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 82.

His family laid him to rest at St. Joseph Old Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Burtschy pitched for the Athletics, then lived quietly for almost five decades after his playing days ended. He had served in the military during World War II and spent five years in Major League Baseball.

Most media outlets barely mentioned his death, which honestly fits the low-profile way he lived after retiring. You could mostly find him remembered in baseball record books or the obituaries tucked into Cincinnati newspapers.

He lived long enough to see the sport he once played change in ways he probably never imagined.