Dennis
W “Denny” Galehouse was born on December 7, 1911 in
Marshallville, Ohio. He signed with Johnstown of the Middle-Atlantic League in
1930 and was 7-3 in 23 games. The following year, with the same
club, Galehouse 13-13 and advanced to the
Fort Wayne
of the Class B Central League in 1932.
Galehouse spent 1933 with New Orleans and opened the 1934 season with
the Cleveland Indians but made just one brief appearance before
being sent back to the Southern Association club. He spent most of
1935 with Minneapolis of the American Association but
joined the Indians as a regular in 1936. Galehouse was 8-7 that
year, then 9-14 in 1937. He was traded to the Red Sox for the 1939
season, sold to the Browns for 1941, and reached double figures in
wins (12-12) for the first time in 1942.
In 1943, with the Browns, he
pitched a career high 224 innings, was 11-11 and had a 2.77 ERA. He
began the 1944 season working in an
Akron, Ohio war plant but gave in to Browns’ general
manager Bill DeWitt's plea to report to wherever the Browns were
playing on weekends and made 24 regular-season appearances for a
9-19 record. He pitched in two 1944 World Series games against the
Cardinals, winning Game 1 (2-1) and losing Game 5 (2-0).
Galehouse hoped to continue
his war job in Akron but received orders
to report for military induction on April 26, 1945. Galehouse served
with the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, where he was a
key fixture on the ball team’s pitching staff. He was discharged on
December 15, 1945, and returned to the Browns for the 1946 season.
He continued to pitch in the majors until 1949, spending the last
two-and-a-half seasons back with the Red Sox.
Denny Galehouse passed away
on October 14, 1998 in
Doylestown, Ohio. He was 86.