Dick Calmus

Richard Lee Calmus

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 187 lb.
• School Northeastern State University
• High School Daniel Webster High School
• Debut April 22, 1963
• Final Game September 2, 1967
• Born January 7, 1944 in Los Angeles, CA USA

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Biographical Information

"Calmus is a fine young prospect." - Don Drysdale, quoted in the May 1964 issue of Baseball Digest

Dick Calmus was a member of the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963, for whom he pitched 21 games at 19. He was also with the Chicago Cubs in 1967.

Calmus was born in L.A. but attended high school in Tulsa, where a teammate of his was Carl Morton. Signed as a free agent in 1962, Dick began in the minors with an 8-4 record in the Midwest League. In 1963 he was in the majors, pitching 44 innings with a 3-1 record and a 2.66 ERA; the team as a whole had a 2.85 ERA. 1964 found him in the minors with the Albuquerque Dukes, for whom he went 12-13. In 1965 and 1966, he was with the Spokane Indians. In 1966, he had a record of 11-10 with an ERA of 3.45, very close to that of another 22-year-old on the team, Bill Singer, who was 13-11 with an ERA of 3.48. Singer became a major league regular for the Dodgers in 1967 while Calmus was traded to the Cubs in April.

With the Cubs, Calmus spent most of 1967 pitching for their Tacoma farm club to an ERA of 2.84; the Tacoma team ERA was 3.52. Another 23-year-old on the team, Bill Stoneman, had a similar ERA of 2.79 and went on to make his major league debut in July, pitching eight seasons in the majors. Calmus, for his part, came up to pitch one game in September for the Cubs, giving up four runs in 4 1/3 innings. Dick was back in the minors in 1968, and then returned to the Dodgers organization in 1969, pitching once more for Albuquerque.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963 (he did not play in the World Series)