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A natural athlete at 6’3″, Claude Passeau earned 12 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track in field at Millsaps State in Mississippi.

After college he threw his first professional pitch in the low minors at age 23. Unpolished because of his lack of pitching experience, Passeau nonetheless showed raw talent.

He climbed his way up through the Pittsburgh system for four years from 1932-1935. After pitching one game for the Pirates in late ’35, Passeau was dealt to the Phillies. The following year he was in the big leagues to stay in ’36 at age 27.

He quickly made up for lost time.

In 1937 only three National League pitchers threw more complete games than Passeau. It was the first of nine consecutive campaigns that he finished in the top-ten of his league in the category.

On May 29, 1939 the Phillies dealt Passeau to the Cubs in the midst of his age-30 season. He soon found stardom in Chicago.

Splitting time between Philadelphia and the Windy City, Passeau led the NL in strikeouts. It was the third of his 8 seasons in the NL’s top ten.

The following year in 1940 Passeau’s 7.6 WAR was the highest of any position player or pitcher on the Senior Circuit. A 20-game winner for the first time, Passeau placed second in ERA and led the league in fielding-independent pitching (FIP). He also gave up the least homers per nine innings.

From 1940-1945 Passeau tallied exactly 100 victories while posting a 2.79 earned run average. At the end of that run he helped the Cubs reach the World Series.

In his first postseason start Passeau pitched a gem. His one-hitter in Game 3 tied Ed Reulbach’s 1906 World Series record for least hits allowed in a complete-game effort. Today only Don Larsen’s 1956 perfect game eclipses the performance.

Passeau made his final All Star appearance as the NL’s starting pitcher in the 1946 contest. With two out in the first inning he issued a base on balls to Ted Williams. New York’s Charlie Keller followed with a two-run homer to tag Passeau with the loss.

The following year was Passeau’s last as a big leaguer.

During his 13-year big league career, Passeau made four All Star teams and received support in MVP balloting three times. He finished with 162 wins, 188 complete games, 26 shutouts, and more than 1,000 strikeouts. Passeau’s career WAR stands at 45.2, higher than 22 Hall of Fame pitchers including Herb Pennock, Dizzy Dean, Jack Morris, and Catfish Hunter.

In the collection is this signature of Claude Passeau from 1945. The next image shows more about the context of when and where the autograph originated.

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In addition to being an All Star pitcher, Claude Passeau was a fine fielder and a decent-hitting pitcher. With the leather he had five errorless seasons, including four in a row from 1941-1945.

Most pitchers post a negative career offensive WAR. Passeau’s 1.8 oWAR mark means overall he was a positive at the plate. For his career, Passeau slugged 15 homers and drove in 80 runs.

Shown here is the back side of the Claude Passeau autographed index card. Notice the postmark. It reveals a date of August 5, 1945 from Cincinnati.

That day Passeau pitched a complete-game five-hitter in a 2-1 win over the Bill McKechnie-managed Reds.

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Claude Passeau gave up one of the most memorable homers in All Star history. It happened in a rough outing in the 1941 Mid Summer Classic.

With one out and a 5-3 lead, he gave up consecutive singles to Ken Keltner and Joe Gordon. After a walk to Cecil Travis, the bases were loaded.

A Joe DiMaggio groundout made it 5-4, bringing Ted Williams to the plate. The Splendid Splinter worked Passeau to a 2-1 count then slammed a walk-off homer deep over the centerfield fence at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.

In the collection is this Major League Baseball Players Association document. Teddy Ballgame has filled it out entirely in his hand, lending his signature to the top.

The document reads in part, “In order to have the Association act on matters important to you and the Association itself we would appreciate your stating any opinions or suggestions you may have. These opinions and suggestions will be treated with the upmost confidence and will be categorized and analyzed.”

Interestingly, Williams suggests playing double headers as two 7-inning contests. More importantly the eagle-eyed Red Sox hitter writes, “Improve Baltimore, Chicago & KC backgrounds, check intensity of lights in the older parks”.

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For many major leaguers, their love of the game makes it difficult to ever leave it behind. Some become scouts, coaches, managers, or executives. After his playing days ended, Claude Passeau stayed close to baseball by taking a number of different positions.

The year after his playing days ended in 1947, Passeau served as a pitching instructor in the Cubs’ system, then managed in the low minors. In 1950 he took the helm of a squad in the Iowa State Semipro League. It was in that capacity that he wrote this letter dated April 27, 1950.

He writes to a prospective player, “I’m wondering if you would like to play semipro baseball with my club. I am managing out here. It’s a pretty tough league though.”

When his time in Iowa was over, Passeau returned to his home state of Mississippi where he owned and operated a John Deere dealership. In 1964 he was honored as part of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Four years later in 1968 he was elected sheriff of George County, a job he enjoyed through his 67th birthday.

Always eager to play in old-timer’s games and attend team reunion events, Passeau kept baseball in his blood.

Though Passeau’s signature is by no means rare, handwritten letters from his time in the game remain difficult to find.