Ken Trinkle
Ballplayers Decorated in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | Decemebr 15, 1919 Paoli, Indiana |
| Date and Place of Death: | May 10, 1976 Paoli, IN |
| Baseball Experience: | Major League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | A Troop, 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized), 9th Armored Division US Army |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Kenneth W. Trinkle was born on December 15, 1919, in Paoli, Indiana. A
right-handed pitcher at Paoli High School, he signed a professional
contract to play with the Thomasville Orioles of the Class D
georgia-Florida League in 1939. He spent the next three seasons with the
Baltimore Orioles of the Class AA International League from 1940 to
1942, and was 15-11 in his last year there before being purchased by the
New York Giants.
Trinkle made his debut with the Giants on April 25, 1943. He made 11
appearances and despite a respectable 3.74 ERA, he was 1-5 when he got
farmed out to the Jersey City Giants of the International League.
On September 18, 1943, Trinkle entered military service with the
Army. He was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, where, in June 1944, he
hurled a sevin-inning no-hitter in his Fort Meade debut against the
Edgewood Arsenal. Later in the year he was stationed at Fort Riley,
Kansas, where he played with the Fort Riley team alongside Pete Reiser, Harry
Walker, Joe Gantenbein, Al Brazle, Murry Dickson and Joe Garagiola.
Trinkle was shipped to France with Dickson and Gantenbein, but they were
separated upon arrival and Trinkle went to the replacement center for
the 9th Armored Division. He saw action at the Battle of the Bulge and
was awarded a Bronze Star. “I was a scout in a reconnaissance outfit,”
he told The Sporting News on June 4, 1947. “We would go out in front of
the infantry to report if anything was there. If you didn’t come back,
they knew there was something out there.”
Following the German surrender in May 1945, Trinkle teamed up with Ralph
Houk for the 9th Armored Division baseball team that made it to the
play-offs of the 1945 ETO World Series. Another teammate was minor
leaguer Ed Musial, Stan's younger brother.
When the 9th Armored Division team was knocked out the ETO World Series
play-offs, he was invited to join the 71st Infantry Division team. The
71st Red Circlers team featured Ewell Blackwell, Ancil Moore, Johnny
Wyrostek, Garland Lawing, Ewell Blackwell, Russ Kern, Milt Ticco, Herb
Bremer and Bill Ayers. The Red Circlers clinched a five-game Third Army
Championship Series in August 1945, against the National League division
winners - the 76th Infantry Division Onaways - to move on to the ETO
World Series against the OISE All-Stars.
In front of crowds of 50,000 at Soldier's Field in Nurnberg, Germany,
the Red Circlers won the first game on September 2, 9-2. The Red
Circlers were beaten by Negro League star Leon Day in the second game,
and lost, 2-1, in game three on September 6. In the decisive fifth game
the Red Circlers were again beaten, 2-1, on a combined effort by Sam
Nahem and Bobby Keane.
Trinkle was discharged from the army in November 1945, and returned to
the New York Giants. The sinker ball specialist had great success as a
reliever and made a league-leading 48 appearances for the Giants in
1946. In 1947, he again led the National League in appearances with 62,
finishing 38 of those games. He made a further 53 appearances in 1948,
but was sold to the Phillies in December. In 1949, his only season with
Philadelphia and his last in the major leagues, Trinkle pitched in 42
games and recorded his highest major league ERA at 4.00. Trinkle pitched
for the Toronto Maple Leafs of International League in 1950, and was
back with Baltimore for 1951 and 1952.
Ken Trinkle passed away on May 10, 1976, in his hometown of Paoli,
Indiana. He was just 55 years old and is buried at Stamper's Creek
Cemetery in Paoli, Indiana.
Thanks to Michael Sekeres for help with this biography.
Date Added January 26, 2018. Updated May 11, 2020
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