Former Phillie of the Day - Tom Hilgendorf

Tom Hilgendorf, today's Former Phillie of the Day, only pitched in Philadelphia for a year. But he had an awesome name and had some remarkable things happen to him before he reached Veterans Stadium.

Consider:

* He was hit in the head with a folding chair by a drunken fan at 10-Cent Beer Night in Cleveland on June 4, 1974. He pitched the next night.
* While playing winter ball in Nicaragua, he contracted hepatitis and missed all of the 1967 and 1968 seasons.
* He dove into a swimming pool, fully clothed, to rescue a boy he saw lying on the bottom of the pool in Anaheim on July 6, 1974.
* He used a bat to behead a monkey that had bitten his child while Hilgendorf was playing in South America, according to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1981.

Hilgendorf was signed by the Cardinals in 1960 but didn't make it to the majors until 1969. In 1970, he split time between St. Louis and AAA Tulsa. He spent all of 1971 in the minors after being traded to the Royals organization. He was traded to the Indians in 1972 and made his first appearance for them on July 12. In his first 3 games, he was used in relief, but got his first start on July 30. He threw a complete game and the Indians beat the Brewers 6-1. He got 4 more starts before moving back to the bullpen.

Hilgendorf was back in the bullpen full time for the next 2 seasons, pitching in 83 games. He wanted to start and hoped for that chance when he was traded to the Phillies in spring training in 1975. But he spent the entire year in the bullpen, going 7-2 in 53 games with a stellar 2.14 ERA.The Phillies released him the next spring, but he was signed by the Pirates. He appeared in 2 minor league games with AAA Charleston before retiring.