Ted Tappe

Who was Ted Tappe?

Theodore Nash Tappe was an American professional baseball player from 1950 to 1952, 1954 to 1955 and 1957 to 1961. An outfielder, he appeared in 34 Major League Baseball games played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. The 6 ft 3 in, 185 lb Tappe was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended Washington State University, where he played one season of college baseball for the Cougars in 1950.

The 19-year-old Tappe had an unremarkable debut season in professional baseball until he reached the Major Leagues. After batting just .253 in the Class A Central League, Tappe was recalled by the Reds in September 1950. Sent into his first game on September 14 at Ebbets Field as a pinch hitter for Reds' pitcher Frank Smith, Tappe hit a home run off Erv Palica of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers nevertheless won the game, 6–3. In 1951, after another lacklustre minor league campaign split between the Central League and the Double-A Texas League, Tappe was again recalled by Cincinnati in September, and registered his second MLB hit, a single off Bubba Church of the Philadelphia Phillies, exactly one year after his home run.