Lou Proctor
Encyclopedia
Lou Proctor is an example of a "phantom ballplayer
," an American
baseball
player listed in the baseball encyclopedias by mistake. Over two dozen "phantoms" have been expunged from baseball's official record book Total Baseball
and its predecessor, The Baseball Encyclopedia.
Proctor was not a baseball player at all, but supposedly a telegraph operator in Cleveland
who inserted his own name into a Boston Red Sox
box score on May 13, 1912, walking once as a pinch hitter
for the St. Louis Browns
. Research in the mid-1980s, however, revealed that the at-bat actually belonged to a real St. Louis player named Pete Compton
. Whether Proctor ever really existed (even as a prankish telegraph operator) is unknown.
Phantom ballplayer
A phantom ballplayer is can be one of two things:*a) Someone who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors...
," an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player listed in the baseball encyclopedias by mistake. Over two dozen "phantoms" have been expunged from baseball's official record book Total Baseball
Total Baseball
Total Baseball is a baseball encyclopedia first compiled by John Thorn and Pete Palmer in 1989. The latest edition, published in 2004, is its eighth...
and its predecessor, The Baseball Encyclopedia.
Proctor was not a baseball player at all, but supposedly a telegraph operator in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
who inserted his own name into a Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
box score on May 13, 1912, walking once as a pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
for the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. Research in the mid-1980s, however, revealed that the at-bat actually belonged to a real St. Louis player named Pete Compton
Pete Compton
Anna Sebastian "Pete" Compton , was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played in parts of six seasons from to with five Major League teams.-External links:...
. Whether Proctor ever really existed (even as a prankish telegraph operator) is unknown.
External links
- http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/P/Proctor_Lou.stm
- http://www.dickiethon.com/omnibus/yannigan3.htm