Elmer Valo

Who was Elmer Valo?

Elmer William Valo, born Imrich Valo, was a Slovak-American right fielder, coach and scout in Major League Baseball, making his debut on September 22, 1940. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Playing in the major leagues for 20 years, Valo was a .282 hitter with 58 home runs and 601 RBI in 1806 games, with most of his time spent as a member of the Philadelphia & Kansas City Athletics.

Valo also played with the Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. His last game was on October 1, 1961, with the Phillies.

Valo played for Federalsburg of the Eastern Shore League in 1939 and for Wilmington in the Interstate League in 1940. It has been alleged that Valo played one game for Philadelphia on September 30, 1939. The significance of this is that if it were true, Valo would join Ted Williams, Mickey Vernon, and Early Wynn as the four decade players from the 30's to the 60's. Although there is no evidence supporting this allegation, the box score for the game in question is incomplete.

A native of Rybník, Czechoslovakia, Valo emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. He was a hustling player and an aggressive line-drive hitter who hit .300 or better five times, with a high-career .364 in 1955. As a right fielder, he was noted for his fearless manner in challenging fences, and occasionally crashed through an outfield wall in pursuit of a ball.