Fritz Buelow

Who was Fritz Buelow?

Frederick William Alexander "Fritz" Buelow was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Berlin, Germany, Buelow was the first player born in Berlin to play in the major leagues.

Buelow got his start in the major leagues after being sold in September 1899 by Detroit of the Western League to the St. Louis Perfectos with Tom Thomas and Pat Dillard. He played nine seasons in the major leagues with the St. Louis Perfectos, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Naps, and St. Louis Browns. He had a career batting average of .192 with six home runs. Though a weak hitter, Buelow was reputed to be better as a catcher. He had at least 66 assists as a catcher in five straight seasons, 1901–05, including 88 in 1904. In 1904, Buelow had 466 chances, with 378 putouts and 88 assists.

On May 4, 1902, the American League suspended Buelow for rowdyism on the field during a game on May 1. John McGraw was also supsended in the incident.

According to retrosheet.org, Buelow umpired a game on July 16, 1906.

Fritz Buelow died in 1933 at age 57 in Detroit, Michigan and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit.