The number stands out from the stats line like a wart, ugly and embarrassing: 162.00. That’s the earned run average Tom Qualters had in his rookie season with the Phillies.
The Cardinals were responsible for giving him that statistical shiner. Qualters, 18, made his big-league debut against them. He faced seven Cardinals and retired one. Six scored. His line: 0.1 innings, six runs, 162.00 ERA in his lone appearance of the 1953 regular season.
To his credit, Qualters recovered from that clobbering. He eventually went to the minors and became a teammate of Satchel Paige and Whitey Herzog. Then he returned to the majors and pitched for an American League pennant contender, retiring the likes of Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams.
Bonus baby
A standout amateur athlete in McKeesport, Pa., near Pittsburgh, Qualters developed into a dominating right-handed pitcher. He struck out 22 in a no-hitter against Donora (hometown of Stan Musial). In 1951, at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, Qualters started for a team of American Legion all-stars managed by Hall of Famer Pie Traynor.
After he graduated from high school in June 1953, Qualters was offered a signing bonus of at least $25,000 by Pirates general manager Branch Rickey, according to The Pittsburgh Press, but instead accepted a $40,000 offer from the Phillies. Qualters “had his heart set on joining the Phillies from the time he was in knee pants,” The Sporting News reported.
Major League Baseball had a rule then that any amateur who got a signing bonus of more than $4,000 had to stay with the big-league club for two full years. (It was intended to keep the wealthiest clubs from signing scores of prospects and stockpiling them in the minors.) That meant Qualters, who signed on June 16, 1953, had to remain in the majors with the Phillies until at least June 16, 1955.
“I might have been better off going to the minors for experience and a chance to pitch regularly, but I just couldn’t pass up that money,” Qualters said to The Pittsburgh Press. “I used most of it to fix up our home in McKeesport and also pay for an operation on my mother.”
(More than 30 years later, in a 1987 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Qualters said baseball’s bonus rule “was devastating to me” because “I had no business being there” in the majors.)
Learning curve
When he joined the Phillies, “I was really scared,” Qualters said to The Pittsburgh Press. “It was the first time I ever had been away from home and I didn’t know what kind of a reception I’d receive … Being a bonus player, I thought they’d give me the cold shoulder, but they treated me like one of the boys and were always giving me advice. I spent a lot of time with Jim Konstanty in the bullpen and he went out of his way to be nice. Robin Roberts, too.”
(Decades later, Qualters gave conflicting versions of how his Phillies teammates received him. In 1984, Qualters said to the Philadelphia Daily News, “Guys like Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons, Richie Ashburn _ they were great. They made the ride a little smoother, and they certainly didn’t have to.” Three years later, Qualters told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The players and the manager (Steve O’Neill) were from the old school and didn’t accept me. You can imagine the resentment. As a result, I was off by myself most of the time.”)
The Phillies’ plan was for Qualters to learn by observing rather than pitching. Though he was occupying a roster spot, there was no desire to put him into a regular-season game. “I was a batting practice pitcher, a high-priced batting practice pitcher,” Qualters told the Philadelphia Daily News.
On June 29, 1953, in an exhibition between the Phillies and Athletics for the benefit of the Junior Baseball Federation of Philadelphia, Qualters started before a crowd of 15,293 at Shibe Park. The jittery teen got through the first inning, but gave up six runs in the second before he was lifted.
Two weeks later, Qualters pitched in another exhibition game for the Phillies against the minor-league Baltimore Orioles and yielded five runs in three innings.
Though those exhibition performances did nothing to entice manager Steve O’Neill to pitch Qualters when the Phillies played for keeps, he told the Philadelphia Bulletin, “The boy has everything he needs, a fastball and a terrific curve. If he isn’t a real pitching prospect, then I’ve never seen one.”
Rough stuff
On Sept. 13, 1953, a Sunday at St. Louis, the Cardinals led the Phillies, 11-1, entering the bottom of the eighth. With the outcome not much in doubt, O’Neill waved a proverbial white flag, choosing to let Qualters make his official debut. The Cardinals, though, were all business.
The first batter Qualters faced, hulking slugger Steve Bilko, slammed a home run. The next to come up was Bilko’s physical opposite, Peanuts Lowrey. He drew a walk, then scooted to second on a Qualters wild pitch.
Qualters hit the next batter, Rip Repulski, with a pitch. Harvey Haddix, the Cardinals’ pitcher, followed with a single, loading the bases. Solly Hemus also singled, scoring Lowrey, and reloading the bases.
The first out Qualters recorded came when a future Hall of Famer, Red Schoendienst, grounded to first. Hemus was forced out at second, but Repulski scored from third on the play.
Next up was Stan Musial.
“I was told never to give him the same pitch twice, and this stuck with me like a nursery rhyme,” Qualters said to The Pittsburgh Press. “Our catcher (Stan Lopata) called for a slow curve and Musial swung and missed. I felt pretty good. Then the catcher decided to call for the same pitch and I shuddered. I knew what the boys in the bullpen told me, but who was I to shake off the catcher? So I threw the slow curve again and Musial hit it against the wall.”
Musial’s two-run double knocked Qualters out of the game. Jim Konstanty relieved and gave up a single to Enos Slaughter, driving in Musial and making the score 17-1. Boxscore
It would be four years before Qualters pitched in another regular-season game in the majors.
Starting over
Qualters spent the entire 1954 season with the Phillies and, though healthy, never played in a regular-season game.
In 1955, as mandated by the bonus rule, the Phillies began the season with Qualters on their roster but he again didn’t get into a regular-season game. The Sporting News referred to him as “Money Bags” because he was being paid without having to perform.
When Qualters completed his two-year stint on the big-league roster in June 1955, he was sent to a Class B farm club in Reidsville, N.C. “I just want to pitch in games, somewhere, anywhere,” Qualters said to the Associated Press.
Years later, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “When I went to Reidsville, I found I had lost my velocity. I didn’t have my riding fastball anymore.”
With the Class AAA Miami Marlins in 1956, Qualters, 21, was a teammate of Satchel Paige, 50. Paige was 11-4 with a 1.86 ERA. Qualters had his first good season as a pro _ 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA.
Paige and Qualters were back with Miami in 1957. Joining them was an outfielder, Whitey Herzog, 25, who hit .272. Qualters led the pitching staff in appearances (46) and innings pitched (186) and won 11. Paige had 10 wins and a 2.42 ERA.
Qualters admired the glove Paige used, an aged Mort Cooper model. “It looks like it belongs in the museum at Cooperstown but I like the way it handles,” Qualters told the Miami News. Qualters swapped Paige a new glove for his relic.
The Phillies called up Qualters in September 1957 and he made six relief appearances for them. In one, against the Cardinals, he gave up two runs in 0.2 innings. Boxscore
Qualters began the 1958 season with the Phillies, pitched in one game, got waived and was claimed by the White Sox.
A highlight came on May 25, 1958, in a game against the Red Sox. Qualters relieved starter Dick Donovan with the bases loaded and got Ted Williams to fly out to center. Boxscore
Two months later, at Yankee Stadium, Qualters pitched two scoreless innings and retired Mickey Mantle on a pop-up to second. Boxscore
Qualters made 26 relief appearance for the 1958 White Sox, who finished second behind the American League champion Yankees.
The White Sox had Qualters in their plans for 1959 until he injured his pitching elbow in spring training. Assigned to Class AAA Indianapolis, managed by Mort Cooper’s brother, Walker Cooper, Qualters developed nerve problems in his pitching hand and never got back to the majors. The 1959 White Sox won the American League pennant. “I was all set to be on that pitching staff (until getting injured),” Qualters said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That really hurt.”
Qualters became a regional supervisor for the Pennsylvania Fish Commission and was responsible for overseeing enforcement for 10 counties, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was in charge of 15 field officers and 80 deputies.
RetroSimba 
The bonus rule certainly ruined what might have been a promising career for Tom Qualters. He had some very impressive outings as a high school pitcher. He should have been sent to the minor leagues for more development. I find it amusing that the owners devised the bonus rule to keep themselves in check. And yet, they all ended up breaking their own rules. Nothing has changed. Is there any truth that the Detroit Tigers desperately wanted to sign Tom Qualters over Al Kaline?
Phillip, your comment _ “I find it amusing that the owners devised the bonus rule to keep themselves in check. And yet, they all ended up breaking their own rules. Nothing has changed.” _ is quite astute and I share your sentiments.
According to a Baltimore Sun article by Murray Wieman, who covered high school sports for the Sun in the 1950s and also was a bird dog scout for the Tigers, “The Tigers, and all other major league teams, had been eagerly pursuing Tom Qualters.”
When Qualters signed with the Phillies, Tigers farm director John McHale “gave the green light for the Tigers to sign Al Kaline,” Wieman reported.
On June 22, 1953, the Tigers signed Bob Miller, 17, a left-handed pitcher from Morton High School in Berwyn, Ill., for $60,000, and Kaline, 18, for $35,000, the Associated Press reported. According to the wire service, “It was the biggest bonus spree ever tried by the Tigers.”
(The Tigers’ Bob Miller was not the St. Louis Bob Miller, a right-hander, who signed with the Cardinals in the 1950s. Both Millers pitched for the 1962 Mets.)
The Tigers assigned Kaline and Miller to be road roommates when they joined the club in June 1953. Unlike what the Phillies did with Qualters, the Tigers, managed by Fred Hutchinson, gave their teenage bonus players a chance to play right away. Kaline appeared in 30 games for the 1953 Tigers, had 28 at-bats and hit .250. Miller pitched in 13 games for the 1953 Tigers and was 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA.
Kaline went on to a Hall of Fame career. Miller pitched five years in the majors and was 6-8 with a 4.72 ERA.
Do you know when the bonus rule was changed?
The bonus rule was implemented in 1947, rescinded in 1958, revived in 1962 and abolished in June 1965 when baseball had its first amateur player draft. When the rule was revived in 1962 it was revised so that a player had to spend one full year in the majors rather than two.
Among the New York Giants “bonus babies” were Joey Amalfitano, who signed for $40,000 in May 1954; Paul Giel, who signed for $60,000 in July 1954; and Mike McCormick, who got $50,000 in September 1956.
This article intrigues me…him being a bonus baby. What an unbelievable commitment the rule required, to be on the roster for two years. I took a look at wikipedia and read two interesting bits of info about Tom Qualters….that his nickname was “money bags” which I assume had to do with him being a bonus baby and the other fun fact is that he is the only pitcher to appear on four different Topps baseball cards without ever having a win or a loss.
Thanks for the insights, Steve. I suspect there were plenty of Tom Qualters cards in those 1950s wax packs as opposed to the number of Warren Spahn and Eddie Mathews ones.
Fewer than 60 players whose last name begins with “Q” have played in the big leagues _ and none has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.