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Shown here is a photo of Fred Hutchinson signed across his Detroit Tigers uniform. Hutch got his big league chance after winning 25 games for the Seattle Rainiers and being named The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year in 1938.

After two seasons with the Tigers, Hutch lost four seasons to WWII rising to the rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy. By the time his 10-year playing career was over, Hutch appeared in 242 games, the 1940 World Series, and the 1951 All Star game.

By midseason 1952 Hutch became a rare pitcher who was also a player/manager. As a big league skipper Hutch was the first manager for Al Kaline and later Pete Rose.

In December, 1963 the chain-smoking Hutchinson found a lump in his neck. Further examination revealed malignant tumors in his lungs, chest, and neck – a death sentenced based on the medical practices of the time. On November 12, 1964, Hutch succumbed to the disease.

Sport magazine posthumously named him “Man of the Year” for 1964 in tribute to his courage in battling his final illness and the Reds permanently retired his uniform number and inducted him to their Hall of Fame.

See the next image for information about The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the world’s foremost cancer research centers.

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In the collection is this government postcard with cancellations from Detroit, Michigan from June 26, 1954. The Tigers faced off against the Senators that day.

Manager Fred Hutchinson pushed all the right buttons, overcoming a pair of three-hit games by Mickey Vernon and Roy Sievers to beat Washington 5-4 at Tiger Stadium.

The US Postal Service’s postmark adds value and context to the autograph. Hutchinson has signed this in his third season at the helm in Detroit, his first solely in the role of manager after being player/manager in 1952 and ’53.

After Hutch died from cancer in 1964, Major League Baseball established the Hutch Award in his honor. On 12/24/1999 Hutch was named Seattle’s Athlete of the 20th Century. Next time you visit the Mariners Safeco Field, notice that all of the end plates of the stadium’s rows are embossed with a likeness of him.

Dr. William Hutchinson, brother of baseball hero Fred Hutchinson founded the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation to study heart surgery, cancer and endocrine diseases. By 1962, Dr. Hutchinson envisioned another dream: a center devoted to studying cancer, the disease that would later take the life of his brother Fred in 1964. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened its first home in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood in 1975.

According to The Hutch’s website, “At Fred Hutch, our interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit of, and passion for, health knowledge and hope to their work and the world.”

Fred Hutchinson’s legacy goes well beyond the game and continues to expand.

 

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Fred Hutchinson had a career year in 1947. He led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio and posted career-bests in wins and complete games with 18 each. At the plate, Hutch hit .302 with 9 extra-base hits. He added two home runs and 15 RBI. Hutch’s OPS+ for the season was 113, meaning he was 13% better than league average as a hitter.

Through the first five months of the season Hutchinson was mediocre on the hill. By September 5th, Hutch had a 13-10 record. The right hander’s final five starts of the season changed everything. Hutch went 5-0 with five complete games and two shutouts.

Two of those victories came in head-to-head matchups against Hall of Famer hurler Bob Feller. The first came on September 20. Hutch went all ten innings en route to a 3-2 win. The victory evened his career record at 34 wins and 34 losses.

Nine days later the pair squared off again. This time Hutchinson was even better. He held the Indians scoreless, scattering six hits in the 1-0 win.

Shown here is a letter written by Feller to his wife along with the envelope in which it was mailed. Notice the Detroit postmark of September 21, 1947, the day after Hutch beat Feller. In the ensuing pages Feller describes the game’s ending in detail.

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In the September 20th contest against the Indians, Fred Hutchinson faced off against Indians ace Bob Feller. The Hall of Fame pitcher was in search of his 20th win of the season.

The Tigers drew blood first, pushing across a run in the opening frame. Cleveland got even in the 5th when Feller helped his own cause with a two-out RBI single. Each team added a run and the game remained tied after nine innings.

Feller ran into a jam in the tenth. After a leadoff walk, the Tigers sacrificed the runner into scoring position. Hutchinson came to bat. A dangerous hitter, the pitcher was hitting .305 with just six strikeouts in 100 plate appearances on the season.

In a rare occurrence, Feller intentionally walked the pitcher, putting runners at first and second with one out. Pinch hitter Doc Cramer looked to walk off the Tigers. Instead Cramer hit a routine grounder to third baseman Ken Keltner.

On page two of the letter shown here, Feller describes what happened next.

“Keltner fumbled a ground ball yesterday – a double play ball with two on and [it] loaded the bases…,” Feller writes.

With his intentional walk at the hands of one of the game’s all-time greats, Hutchinson became one of a handful of pitchers to receive a free pass. Since 1945, only seven intentional walks have been issued to pitchers.

In 3,827 career innings, Feller put just 57 men aboard via an intentional pass. The list is littered with great hitters like Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, and Yogi Berra. In all, Feller issued 20 intentional bases on balls to members of the Hall of Fame.

And one to Fred Hutchinson.

The next image shows page three in which Feller details how the Tigers walked him off.

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The contest between the Tigers and the Indians on September 20, 1947 was a good old-fashioned pitchers duel. After Fred Hutchinson and Cooperstown’s Bob Feller battled to a 2-2 tie through the first nine innings, the Tigers threatened in the 10th.

With runners at first and second and no out, Doc Cramer hit a routine grounder to Cleveland’s Ken Keltner at third base.

“Keltner fumbled a ground ball yesterday – a double play ball with two on and [it] loaded the bases…,’ Feller writes in the previous page of letter.

The error forced outfielders took a few steps in, shallow enough to catch a fly ball and hold the potential winning run at third.

Tigers second baseman Eddie Mayo came to bat with the game on the line. As Feller explains in the third page shown here, Mayo decided the outcome.

“…they won the game on a hit which would’ve been out but our outfielders were playing in close…”

Hutchinson and the Tigers won the walk-off thriller.

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Fred Hutchinson was quite a hitter. In 148 minor league games, Hutch went 119-for-361, good for a .330 average. For good measure he also tallied 31 doubles and four homers to put his slugging percentage at .454.

Hutch continued his hot hitting once he reached the bigs. In his first three seasons with the Tigers he hit .318. On the hill in those years he was 6-13 with a 5.43 ERA. After missing the next three season due to military service in World War II, Hutch was unsure if his baseball future was on the mound or at the plate.

When he returned from the war, Hutch found his stride on the mound, winning 14 games in 1946. Though he stuck as a pitcher, Hutch was used as a pinch hitter in 114 games. He hit .300 or better in four seasons.

Shown here is the final page of the letter written by Bob Feller.