Joseph Haynes, who had been an all-star American League pitcher,
brother-in-law of Twins owner Calvin Griffith and Twins vice-president
passed away of a heart attack after shoveling snow at his Hopkins,
Minnesota home at the age of 49.
Haynes had a 14 year big league career as a right-handed pitcher for
the Washington Senators (1939-1940, 1949-1952) and the Chicago White Sox
(1941-1948) posting a 76-82 won/lost record with 21 saves to go with a
4.01 ERA in 379 games, 147 of them in a starting role and 53 complete
games. Haynes, primarily a curveball and fastball pitcher, was not a
strike out pitcher nor was pin-point control one of Joe’s strength’s as
he walked 620 and struck out 475 batters in 1,581 innings.
After his playing career ended after the 1952 season, Haynes became a
coach for the Washington Senators for three seasons after which he
became the team’s vice-president and general manager in 1955, following
the death of his father-in-law, Clark Griffith. His widow, Thelma
Griffith Haynes, continued to serve as an executive vice president,
assistant treasurer, and part owner of the Twins until they were sold to
Carl Pohlad in 1985. Her brothers, Sherry, Jimmy, and Billy, were also
part of the organization. The Twins pitcher of the year award is named
after Haynes and the Joseph W. Haynes Twins Pitcher of the Year award is
given annually to the Twins top pitcher.
A more detailed biography of Joe Haynes completed as part of the http://bioproj.sabr.org/ can be found here.
Click here to read the original story at Twins Trivia.
