Lew Wendell

Who was Lew Wendell?

Lewis Charles Wendell was an American baseball player and team manager. Wendell was born March 22, 1892, in New York City. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball, with his first game in 1915.

Wendell's professional career began in 1912 with the minor league Albany Senators. After three seasons in the minors, Wendell made his MLB debut with the New York Giants in 1915. After playing in two games with the Giants in 1916, Wendell returned to the minors with the Louisville Colonels.

Wendell spent the next several seasons moving from team to team in the minors In 1921, he was the first of two managers for the Greenville Spinners in the Class-B South Atlantic League, where he was also the team's starting catcher.

Wendell finally made his way back to the majors in 1924 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Wendell played parts of three seasons with the Phillies, and his last MLB game was in 1926. He returned to the minor leagues one more time, playing the rest of 1926 and all of 1927 with the Portland Beavers.

He died July 11, 1953 in Brooklyn.