(1886-1967) rhp

Joseph Drumm was born In Troy, New York on February 26, 1886.

It is unclear when his professional baseball career began. Sporting Life (May 25, 1907) noted that Manager Win Clark of the Virginia League’s Portsmouth Truckers (Class C) “farmed” out pitcher Drumm to the South Carolina League (Class D). However, there is no additional evidence that he played in 1907.

In 1908 he pitched for the Charlotte Hornets in the Carolina Association (Class D) (Sporting Life, Oct., 1908) and compiled a 12-9 record. In the same year Sporting Life reported that he also pitched one game for Albany, NY (Aug. 15). It is unclear if he played in 1909.

Drumm began the 1910 season as a member of the Greenville Spinners (Carolina Association) and is pictured in a Greenville uniform on his T209-2 card. He pitched ten games for the Spinners, but there is no won-lost record for him. On June 24 The Asheville Citizen mentioned that Drumm would join the Asheville Mountaineers. The Mountaineers were down to ten players, and management anxiously anticipated Drumm’s arrival. By June 29 the Citizen reported that Drumm still had not arrived and a wire had been sent to the Greenville team asking the manager “to look him up and send him on.” He finally appeared in a Mountaineers game on July 10 and played right field (AC July 10). On July 11 the Asheville Citizen gave credit to Harvey Holt for acquiring Drumm, “the crack Columbia pitcher.” The Columbia reference suggests that Drumm may have been a member of the Columbia Gamecocks of the South Atlantic League (Class C) during the several days between his Greenville departure and his Asheville appearance. There is no evidence to support this apart from Holt’s comment, but it does underscore the fact that minor league players of this era were constantly moving from team to team.

His first pitching outing for Asheville occurred July 11. He pitched well during the next few weeks, but after throwing a complete game on July 20, and then being used in relief the next day, he may have injured his arm. (AC July 20). For the rest of the schedule he shifted from the outfield to the mound. When the season concluded the  Citizen announced that Drumm was returning to New York to continue his studies at Manhattan College (Sept. 10, 1910). There is no evidence that he continued to play professionally after 1910.

Drumm died in Troy, NY on February 6, 1967.

KW/MP