With Baseball season starting up, I figured I would compile a list of Major League players from Saginaw.  I am sure there are a lot of players that played professionally, but I stuck to the guys that played in the Major Leauge.

Working on the list it reminded me of a time when my friend’s car broke down several years ago, when I was still in school, and we needed it towed. The tow truck driver was a big brute of a man, but a nice guy. we piled into the cab of his truck and somehow we got talking about baseball. He told me he grew up with Curt Young and remembered playing ball with him and how he was a great pitcher. He said few guys could ever get a hit off his one of his pitches, but he said he could do it. He said it was pretty cool that Curt went on to the big leagues.

I think that when someone from your hometown goes on to make it big, there is a sense of pride that you knew them and seen their hard work and talent come to fruition. And there is always that time you can tell your kids or grandkids, ” yeah I know him, I went to school whith him and he was a hell of a ball player, we all knew he was gonna be big somday”

But I digress, on with the list.

Archie Yelle

Archie Yelle was born on June 11, 1892, in Saginaw and attended school at Saginaw High. He played professionally for over 20 years as a catcher. It was in 1917 that he joined the Detroit Tigers and played 87 games with the team for two years.  He was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Ed Albosta

He was born on October 27, 1918, in Saginaw and graduated from Arthur Hill in 1938. He signed a contract to play with the Detroit Tigers after a tryout but was declared a free agent when the baseball commissioner found the tigers guilty of hiding contracts of 91 players.  In 1941 he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a Pitcher.  After his first year of pitching for the Dodgers, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he played 17 games for the Pittsburg Pirates in 1946. He was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Bob Buhl

He was born on August 12, 1928 and graduated from Saginaw High. Buhl was 24 years old when he was first to sign a major league contract by Milwaukee Braves scout Earle W. Halstead in 1953.  He pitched for the braves until 1962. He was part of the World Series Championship team in 1957. In 1962, Buhl was traded to the Cubs after appearing in just one game for the Braves. In 1966 He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies and ended his major league career with them in 1967. He was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Al Luplow

He was born on  March 13, 1939, in Saginaw. He played football for Michigan State before signing with the Cleveland Indians to play right feild in 1961. In 1965 he went over to the New York Mets and then in 1967 he played his final season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.

Curt Young

He was born on April 16, 1960, in Saginaw and graduated from Arthur Hill.  Young was drafted by the Athletics in the fourth round of the 1981 draft. He joined the big league club in 1983 and played with the A’s through the 1991 season.  In 1992 he played for both the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees before rejoining Oakland in 1993. He is currently a pitching coach for the Oakland A’s

I can honestly say I am not a huge baseball fan, and I can not tell you the last time a saw a game so hopefully my list is complete. I am sure you will let me know if something is wrong or missing.

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