Carl Tumlinson
| Date and Place of Birth: | March 31, 1932 Phoenix, AZ |
| Date and Place of Death: | April 7, 1953 North Korea |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Shortstop |
| Rank: | Private |
| Military Unit: | Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team US Army |
| Area Served: | Korea |
Carl Tumlinson was a heavy-hitting shortstop in the Dodgers farm system who may have replaced Pee Wee Reese at Ebbetts Field.
Carl "Duane" Tumlinson was born on March 31, 1932 in Phoenix,
Arizona, the son of Carlos and Dorothy Tumlinson. Known as Duane during
his teenage years, he attended Union High School in Phoenix where he was
an outstanding baseball and basketball player, earning honorable mention
in the Class A High School Basketball championship.
The big-hitting shortstop was pursued by a number of major league clubs
during his senior year and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers upon
graduation, as reported by the Tucson Daily Citizen on June 12, 1950:
"Duane Tumlinson, 18-year-old former Phoenix Union high school infield
star, reports today to the Santa Barbara club of the Class C California
State League. He is expected to take over the regular shortstop
assignment immediately. Tumlinson was signed to a $6,000 contract by the
Brooklyn Dodgers. He spurned a number of major
league bonus offers."
Tumlinson played 86 games for the Santa Barbara Dodgers during 1950 and
batted a very respectable .271 with 22 doubles. In 1951, he was advanced
to Class B with the Newport News Dodgers of the Piedmont League. In 10
games he hit .240 and was assigned to the Greenwood Dodgers of the Class
C Cotton States League. The 19-year-old proved to be one of the league's
top hitters. On June 24, he hit two home runs, one a grand slam, in a
win over Hot Springs. The Greenville Delta Democrat Times commented that
day on how he was gaining on batting leader Jim Gilbert:
"Carl Tumlinson, Greenwood, picked up 13 points in batting during the
week ending June 19 and pulled to within 13 points of the Cotton States
League leader, Jim
Gilbert of Natchez. The Dodger shortstop rapped out 10 hits in 21 times
at bat to boost his mace mark to .373, while Gilbert was dropping 11
points to .386 by virtue of only four safeties in 16 tries, according to
the records of the Friend News Service, loop statistician."
Tumlinson dropped off the pace during the tail-end of the season
although he still came through in style on occasion. On August 15, he
blasted a home run, single and double to drive in four runs against
Clarksdale. He finished the year with a .319 batting average, 30 doubles
and 19 home runs and was named to the league all-star team (Jim Gilbert
won the batting title with a .352 average).
In 1952, Tumlinson advanced to the Elmira Pioneers of the Class A
Eastern League. He got off to a great start and was hitting .314 in
mid-May, but then received his army draft notice to report for military
duty in July. Tumlinson pretty well went through the motions until it
was time to leave the club. In his last game (June 18), batting in the
number three spot, he went 1-for-5, hitting a double in the sixth inning
against Albany's Stan McWilliams. He headed home to his parents in
Phoenix, having played 53 games and batted .258 with five home runs. His
replacement at shortstop was Bob Lillis, who batted just .203 for the
remainder of the season but went on to enjoy a 10-year big league
career.
On July 4, 1952, Tumlinson left Phoenix to return to Elmira, New York,
where he was inducted in the Army on July 8. Private Carl Tumlinson
served in Korea with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental
Combat Team. He was killed in action on April 7, 1953. Private Tumlinson
was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean
Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense
Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of
Korea War Service Medal.
Sources:
Tucson Daily Citizen December 13, 1948
Tucson Daily Citizen March 7, 1949
Yuma Daily Sun March 25, 1950
Tucson Daily Citizen June 12, 1950
Greenville Delta Democrat Times June 24, 1951
Biloxi Daily Herald August 16, 1951
Biloxi Daily Herald September 3, 1951
Albany Knickerbocker News May 17, 1952
Albany Knickerbocker News June 18, 1952
Albany Knickerbocker News June 19, 1952
Binghamton Press April 22, 1953
Phoenix Arizona Republic Phoenix Arizona July 4, 1952
www.baseball-reference.com
photo of Carl located at
www.baseball.aboutgreenwoodms.com
Date Added February 20, 2013
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