Frank Carswell

Who was Frank Carswell?

Frank Willis Carswell was an American third baseman, first baseman, outfielder, manager and scout in professional baseball. Although he played only 16 Major League Baseball games in his career, for the 1953 Detroit Tigers, Carswell was one of the top minor league hitters of the post-World War II era.

Carswell was born in Palestine, Texas, and attended Rice University. He threw and batted right-handed, and stood 6 feet tall and weighed 195 pounds. He signed with the Tigers in 1941, and batted .338 in 275 at bats for the Jamestown Falcons of the Class D PONY League. But the U.S. entered World War II after that season, and Carswell lost four years while serving in the United States Marine Corps. By the time he returned to pick up his baseball career, he was 26 years old and his prospects for MLB stardom had been dimmed. After spending the 1946 season with the Dallas Rebels of the Class AA Texas League, Carswell was demoted to lower minor leagues for much of 1947–50, where he put up prodigious batting numbers. With the 1947 Paris Red Peppers of the Class B Big State League, Carswell earned All-Star third baseman honors, batting .364 with 36 home runs and 145 runs batted in.