April 29, 1936: Tarzan Beats King Carl In 17

     On April 29, 1936, the Cardinals beat the New York Giants 2-1 in 17 innings at Sportsman's Park. What makes this game absolutely remarkable is both starting pitchers stood on the bump from start to finish. The Cardinals had sent Leroy Parmalee to the bump,while the Giants countered with a future Hall of Famer by the name of Carl Hubbell. King Carl pitched like a Hall of Famer, and while Parmalee does not have a plaque in Cooperstown, he was magnificent throughout as well, allowing just six hits in the 17 innings, while striking out nine. Hubbell's line featured 11 hits given up, and six strikeouts. Hit number 11 was a double by the Cardinals catcher Spud Davis. Two errors later Parmalee and the Redbirds were winners, as the gaffes pushed Davis across the plate three hours and forty one minutes after the contest began.

     Parmalee had been dealt from the Giants to the Cardinals in December of 1935. He had spent seven seasons in the Big Apple. During that time he posted a 40-30 record. At the time of the deal he was coming off his best season in the big leagues, as he had just posted a 14-10 record. He ended up going 11-11 in 28 starts with the Birds, and carried a 4.56 earned run average. He had always struggled with control and was even nicknamed Tarzan, which seems to be why he may not have had better results throughout his career. When the '36 season came to an end Parmalee and Ripper Collins were shipped to the Cubs in exchange for Lon Warneke. It proved to be a great deal for the Redbirds, as Parmalee fell to a 7-8 record in Chicago, then fell off the map in '38 before attempting a comeback in '39. Meanwhile, Warneke gave the Cardinals five full seasons of double-digit wins, and he even sprinkled in a no-hitter.

 Some Called Him Tarzan by Eugene Murdock, Parmalee reminisced briefly of his days in St. Louis. He said Dizzy had come up with a new jingle: "Paul and me and Parmalee" proclaiming the trio would lead the Cardinals to winning the National League Pennant. It did not quite work out that way, but it was not because of a lack of effort, as the Cardinals just five games back at season's end. While Parmalee's time in Cardinal Nation was brief, it too is a time to be remembered. In

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193604290.shtml

Here is a link to the piece by Eugene Murdock:
http://research.sabr.org/journals/some-called-him-tarzan