Les Mueller

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Les Mueller was an American right-handed pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers in 1941 and 1945. He was born March 4, 1919, in Belleville, Illinois, and died October 25, 2012, in Belleville. He batted and threw right-handed. In the minor leagues, he pitched for the Beaumont Exporters and threw a no-hitter on August 22, 1940. He debuted in the major leagues on August 15, 1941. After serving in the Army during World War II, he returned to baseball in 1945. His MLB career ended with a 6-8 record, a 3.78 ERA, and 50 strikeouts.

Notable moments in his career include pitching the first 19 2/3 innings of a game on July 21, 1945, in which he allowed only one unearned run; the game ended in a 1-1 tie due to darkness. He also pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the 1945 World Series. Mueller faced Pete Gray in Gray’s first major league game on April 17, 1945, with Gray recording his first MLB hit off Mueller. After the 1945 season, he played in the minors in 1946 and finished his career with teams in Buffalo, Newark, and Kansas City. He returned to Belleville and worked in his family’s furniture store until retiring in 1976. He is a member of the 1945 World Series champion Tigers.