George Knothe

Knothe was born in Bayonne, New Jersey and graduated from high school in 1917.[2] He began his professional baseball career in 1922 at the age of 24 with the Newark Bears of the International League.[1] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1925.[2] In 1926, he posted a .354 batting average with the Lawrence Merry Macks of the New England League.[1]

In 1928, he had a career year with the Pueblo Steel Workers of the Western League when, he hit .318 in 164 games with 41 doubles, 17 triples, and six home runs.[1] His impressive performance earned him a job with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association.[2] His strong defensive play helped the Blues win the 1929 Little World Series over the Rochester Red Wings.[2] In 1931, the Blues sent Knothe to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association where, he became known as one of the best defensive shortstops in the league.[2]

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Knothe in the Rule 5 draft on September 30, 1931.[2] He made his major league debut with the Phillies at the relatively late age of 34 on April 25, 1932 in a game against the Boston Red Sox that, also featured his brother Fritz playing as the Red Sox third baseman.[1] Four days later at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, he collected his only major-league hit, a double off of Brooklyn pitcher Van Lingle Mungo.[2] The presence of veteran player Dick Bartell relegated Knothe to the role of utility player.[2] After only one month in the major leagues, a new Depression-era rule limiting teams to 23 players would lead the Phillies to send him to the Fort Worth Cats of the Class A Texas League.[1]

Knothe returned to play for the New Orleans Pelicans in 1933, helping the team win the Dixie Series against the Texas League's San Antonio Missions.[2] He played his final season in organized baseball with the Memphis Chickasaws of the Southern Association.[1] Knothe continued to play baseball for semi-pro teams until the age of 39.[2]

In a twelve-year minor league career, Knothe played in 1,131 games, accumulating 1,165 hits in 4,196 at bats for a .277 career batting average, along with 23 home runs.[1] He appeared in 6 major league games, getting 1 hit in 12 at bats and scored 2 runs.

After his baseball-playing career, Knothe served for 29 years as a supervisor for Curtiss-Wright Aeronautics in Woodbridge, New Jersey, before retiring in 1965.[2] He also was a World War II Air Force veteran.[2] George Knothe died on July 3, 1981, and is buried in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Toms River, New Jersey.[2]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• George Knothe at SABR (Baseball BioProject)