Chuck Lindstrom: Second Generation Big Leaguer

Chuck Lindstrom autograph A little bit of a curveball today. I had planned on writing about former Dodger, Ralph Mauriello, but I changed my mind. I wanted to keep with the father-son theme, so today I will share our correspondence with Chuck Lindstrom.

Like Hal Trosky Jr., who we featured yesterday, Chuck Lindstrom was the son of a Major Leaguer. “Dad” was Hall of Famer Freddie Lindstrom who played from 1924-1936. Freddie was known for his bat. He hit .300 or better seven times and ended his career with a lifetime batting average of .311. Freddie was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1976 by the Veterans Committee.

Chuck Lindstrom’s professional baseball career lasted from 1957-1961. After being signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1957, Chuck spent time with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and Davenport DavSox before seeing major league action. Chuck was recalled by the White Sox in September 1958. He spent most of the time in the dugout until manager and future Hall of Famer Al Lopez sent him into the game on September 28th; the last game of the season. Chuck entered the game in the top of the 5th inning as a defensive replacement for catcher Johnny Romano. Chuck had two plate appearances in the game. He walked in his first at-bat and later came around to score in the bottom of the 6th. In his second plate appearance, he faced righty Bob Davis. Lindstrom hit a ball to right field and raced around the bases. He ended up at third with his first career hit, a triple, and an RBI as Johnny Callison scored. The White Sox would go on to win the game 11-4 and with that the 1958 season came to an end as well as Chuck’s major league career. Lindstrom never appeared in another big league game after being sent back down to the minors. He stayed in the game until 1961 when he hung up his cleats for good.

We recently wrote to Chuck Lindstrom about his playing days and whether he regretted leaving the game at a young age.

“I played 5 years, but quit twice during that time. The lifestyle was something I liked and the old time baseball thinking like Al Lopez’s left something to be desired, though he was a nice person. I do not regret leaving when I did.”

Chuck was born after his father’s playing career ended, but we wanted to know if he had any special memories of “dad”.

“I have met many of baseball greats while accompanying my dad [to the Hall of Fame], who by the way doesn’t get the credit he deserves. John McGraw picked him the ninth best player of all time in 1938. Over a span of five consecutive years only a couple of players came close to his records.”

As any son would, Chuck bragged about his pops.

Read more about Chuck Lindstrom: One Hit Wonder

Read more about Freddie Lindstom: SABR Biography

Full text of our correspondence. Click to enlarge.