Chuck Eisenmann

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Chuck Eisenmann was born Charles Paul Eisenmann on October 22, 1918, in Hawthorne, Wisconsin. He grew up in a large family and later moved to Parkland, Wisconsin. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army and played baseball in military leagues. Scouts from the Detroit Tigers noticed him, and he began his professional career in baseball as a minor league pitcher in 1940.

Eisenmann played for several minor league teams from 1940 to 1942, then returned to baseball after serving in World War II. He rejoined the San Diego Padres and played again in 1946 and later in 1953, with stops on other teams along the way. His baseball career included time with teams such as the Los Angeles Angels, Vancouver Capilanos, Yakima Pippins, Memphis Chicks, Mobile Bears, Ottawa Giants, Syracuse Mets, and the San Francisco Seals. He briefly trained as an umpire later in life and continued to be involved in baseball in various roles, including managing in the Nebraska leagues.

Beyond baseball, Eisenmann became well known as a dog trainer and owner. In Los Angeles in the late 1940s, he bought a dog named London and trained him to perform tricks at baseball games. London grew famous for his intelligence and skills, even drawing attention from Life magazine in 1955. London went on to act in films and television, including the Canadian film The Littlest Hobo (1958) and the later TV series. Eisenmann taught London and his other dogs a range of tricks and commands, and he wrote four books on dog training.

Over the years, Eisenmann lived in several places. He spent time in Superior, Wisconsin, and later in Kearney, Nebraska, where he worked as a sports writer. He moved to Roseburg, Oregon, around 1982, where he lived until his death on September 6, 2010, at the age of 91.

Chuck Eisenmann is remembered for two different careers: a dedicated minor league baseball pitcher who served his country in wartime, and a skilled dog trainer whose dogs, especially London, became cultural symbols in sports, film, and television.