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Eddie Rommel won 37 games in two minor league seasons before getting called up to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1920. He found immediate success in his rookie campaign, winning 7 games with two shutouts, one save, and a 2.84 ERA.

Over the next five years, Rommel won 100 games, averaging 283 innings per season. The run was highlighted by his outstanding 1922 season. Though the Athletics won just 65 games in ’22, Rommel pitched his way to a league-leading 27 victories. Called upon to both start and relieve, Rommel made 51 appearances, threw 22 complete games, and closed another 16 out of the bullpen.

By the middle of the 1920s, Connie Mack acquired a wealth of pitching in Lefty Grove, Rube Walberg, George Earnshaw, Jack Quinn, Howard Ehmke, and Bullet Joe Bush. Moving toward the back side of his career, Rommel became the Swiss Army Knife of the staff. He served as a starter, middle reliever, and finisher. No matter his role, Rommel remained greatly effective.

In the ten-year span from 1921-1930, Rommel won 156 contests and posted the fourth-best ERA+ in the American League. A fine fielder, Rommel led the Junior Circuit in fielding percentage three times and in assists twice. His 42.2 WAR during that span was tops among AL pitchers.

His influence goes beyond the numbers. When the phrase, “The Father of the Knuckleball” is Googled, Rommel’s name comes up. Though he didn’t invent the pitch, Rommel popularized it and brought it into the mainstream. In his 2009 book The Spitball/Knuckleball Book, Tom Mahl wrote, “Ed Rommel should be a candidate for Cooperstown. Ed Rommel, the pitcher who really brings us the modern knuckleball.”

In his 13-year playing career with the Connie Mack‘s Philadelphia Athletics, Rommel pitched in 501 games – more than half coming in relief. He won 171 contests and posted a career ERA+ of 121. That ties him with Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Joe McGinnity putting him well within the vicinity of Cooperstown. In addition, Rommel’s .590 winning percentage is better than 35 pitchers with a plaque.

As of the start of 2023, Rommel’s 50.3 career WAR puts him 100th all time. That puts him ahead of Hall of Fame hurlers Dizzy Dean, Hoyt Wilhelm, Jack Morris, Herb Pennock, and Catfish Hunter.

Though he will never gain induction to the Hall, Rommel remains one of the best pitchers of his era.

In the collection is this government postcard signed in 1936 by Eddie Rommel.

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Eddie Rommel’s influence goes well beyond mere pitching statistics. When the phrase, “The Father of the Knuckleball” is Googled, Rommel’s name comes up.

Though he didn’t invent the pitch, Rommel popularized it and brought it into the mainstream. In his 2009 book The Spitball/Knuckleball Book, Tom Mahl wrote, “Ed Rommel should be a candidate for Cooperstown. Ed Rommel, the pitcher who really brings us the modern knuckleball.”

His mastery of the pitch helped him post 171 wins against 119 losses. Rommel led the American League in wins twice, and averaged exactly 20 victories per season from 1921-1925.

His .590 winning percentage puts him ahead a host of Cooperstown hurlers including Steve Carlton, John Smoltz, Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry, Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton.

After leaving the game as a player, Rommel umpired until he was 62 years old. More on his second baseball career as an arbiter is outlined below.

The photo above shows the back of the government postcard signed by Rommel. Notice the postmark from Rommel’s home city of Baltimore, Maryland. It’s dated November 15, 1936, six weeks after his first season as a professional umpire.

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Eddie Rommel had many big moments in his 35 years a a big league pitcher and umpire. Perhaps his most memorable single-game performance as a hurler came on April 13, 1926.

Facing Walter Johnson on Opening Day at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, Rommel locked horns with The Big Train in an epic contest. The pair exchanged zeroes for the first 14 innings.

After Johnson shut down the Athletics in the top of the 14th, Rommel took the hill against the top of the Senators order. The first batter Hall of Fame centerfielder Sam Rice, grounded out. Bucky Harris singled to center and moved to third on a double by Goose Goslin. Cleanup man Joe Harris ended the marathon when he plated Bucky for the walk-off win.

It was The Big Train’s 14th and final Opening Day start. His 12 complete games, 9 wins, and 7 shutouts in season openers remain the major league standard.

In the collection is this handwritten letter penned by Walter Johnson who bested Rommel that day. The September 4, 1935 correspondence thanks Hall of Fame executive Ford Frick for issuing Johnson his lifetime pass.

Much more about Johnson can be found by clicking here.

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The biggest comeback in World Series history came in 1929 when the Philadelphia Athletics overcame an 8-0 deficit to win Game 4.

It was a scoreless affair through the first three frames. In the top of the 4th Chicago’s Charlie Grimm slammed a two-run homer to open the scoring. Two innings later the Cubs broke the game open. Before Athletics starter Jack Quinn retired a single batter, Chicago erupted for five runs. Reliever Rube Walberg came on and allowed one inherited runner to score before ending the scoring rally.

In the 7th, Eddie Rommel took the mound for the Mackmen. With one out he allowed a triple to Rogers Hornsby. Two batters later Cubs right fielder Kiki Cuyler recorded his third hit and second RBI of the game to push the lead to 8-0. Rommel then induced a double play ball to end the inning.

The Athletics came into the game leading the Series 2-games-to-1. Now with their team down 8-0 in Game 4, the Shibe Park faithful were dejected. A Cubs win would reduce the Series to a best-of-three with two games at Chicago.

A Philadelphia loss seemed certain. Cubs starter Charlie Root was in command, scattering three hits through the first six frames. In the 7th, that all changed.

Root’s shutout ended when he allowed a leadoff homer to Al Simmons. Ten of the next eleven Athletics reached base. After Simmons’ shot left the yard, the inning featured 7 singles, a double, one hit batter and a three-run inside-the-park home run. Ten men touched the plate by the time the side was retired. The single-inning, double-digit Fall Classic scoring outburst has yet to be surpassed.

By virtue of retiring the Cubs immediately before his team took the lead, Rommel became the pitcher of record. Mack called on Lefty Grove to get the last six outs. The Hall of Famer did it in style, retiring them in order while striking out four Cub batters. In the greatest comeback in World Series history, Rommel got the win and Grove got the save.

Shown here is a handwritten letter from Grove dated April 29, 1973. Such letters from Grove are seldom seen. In the body of the correspondence, Grove writes that he will be in Cooperstown on July 21. The date holds special significance to Grove. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21, twenty-six years earlier.

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Eddie Rommel’s final career victory came in a most unexpected and remarkable way. After pitching his way to 154 victories in the 1920s, Rommel’s career began to wind down in the new decade.

Though he made 60 appearances in 1930 and 1931, only 19 came as starts. In ’31 Rommel established career-lows in games (25) and innings (118) but was still effective. In a year when the American League’s era was 4.38, Rommel’s was 2.97.

His last season as a big league pitcher came in 1932 when he was used sparingly and only in relief. In his first 9 appearances he recorded as many as five outs only once.

On July 7th the Athletics began a stretch of 9 games in 5 days that would wear their pitching staff thin. In Chicago on the 8th and the 9th Rommel pitched on consecutive days for only the season time that year. In those two games he completed five innings – his most work in any previous week of the season.

The schedule called for the A’s to leave for Cleveland for a July 10th make-up game before returning to Philadelphia for a seven-game home stand. Wanting to save money on travel expenses, Athletics’ owner Connie Mack brought just two pitchers, rookie Lew Krause and the taxed Rommel.

Krause started and was less-than effective. After giving up singles to the first two batters, Krause gave up a three-run bomb to Hall of Famer Earl Averill. Krause got hit hard in the initial frame. In all, eight men came to bat, five reached base, and three scored.

Mack had seen enough. With no other pitchers traveling with the team, Rommel was summoned to start the second inning with an understanding he must also finish the game. The game turned into a slugfest with the two squads combining for 58 hits – 17 of them going for extra bases.

After nine innings, the teams were tied with 15 runs apiece. The game remained knotted until the 16th inning when Jimmie Foxx hit his third home run of the contest. Unfortunately, Rommel coughed up a pair himself and the game continued.

In the top of the 18th, Foxx tallied his fourth hit and 16th total base of the game with a two-out single. Eric McNair’s doubled plated Foxx with the go-ahead run. Rommel returned to the mound needing three outs for the win.

Up stepped Averill. The centerfielder had already reached base seven times on the day. This time Rommel sent him back to the bench on strikes. After Joe Vosmik grounded to second, the Athletics were one out away from victory. When Rommel got Ed Morgan on strikes, the exhausted pitcher earned his 171st – and last – career victory.

In the gutsy effort, Eddie went 17 innings, gave up 29 hits, nine walks, and 14 runs.

Shown here is a photo signed by Jimmie Foxx, the biggest offensive contributor to Rommel’s final MLB victory. The snapshot is taken outside of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Next to Foxx is Athletics manager Connie Mack.

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Edwin Americus Rommel was a big league twirler for 13 years. After his pitching career in the majors ended in October of 1932, Rommel was hired by Connie Mack as a coach. Then in 1935 Rommel managed an Athletics minor league affiliate to the Piedmont League championship.

After facing a pay cut, Rommel looked for another way to stay in the game. His old skipper Mack suggested to Rommel that he take up umpiring. The former hurler agreed. Soon he began the second act of his pro baseball career that lasted longer than the first.

Rommel’s time as an arbiter started in the Class-A New York-Penn League in 1936. By 1938 he was promoted to the American League.

Rommel worked parts of three decades as one of baseball’s most respected arbiters. His time in pro baseball began at age 20 in 1918 as a pitcher and ended at age 62 in 1959 as an umpire.

The image above is the first page of a two-page letter written by Rommel during his umpiring career in 1952. The content revolves around his quest for tickets to the World Series between the Yankees and the Dodgers.

More on Rommel’s umpiring career can be found under the next image.

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Eddie Rommel’s work as an umpire allowed him to continue in the game he adored. Along the way he had many highlights.

In 1953 he was the third base ump in the St. Louis Browns’ final contest before they relocated to Baltimore. The next season he called balls and strikes in the first game for the newly-relocated Orioles.

In ’56 Rommel became the first big league arbiter to don eyeglasses in a game. He wore the spectacles only while working the bases in night games.

By the time he walked away, Rommel worked six All Star Games – three behind the plate – and two Fall Classics.

This image shows the second page of Rommel’s 1952 letter.