Earl Caldwell†
Inducted 2013
Hometown: Holland, Texas
High School: Holland High School
College: Thorpe Spring College
Best Known for: Baseball
April 9, 1905-Sept. 15, 1981
Caldwell was a major league pitcher who played with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox during a major and minor league career that spanned 29 seasons from 1926-54.
Caldwell graduated from Holland High School in 1922 and Thorpe Spring College in 1924. He joined the Waco Cubs of the Texas League in 1926 and went up to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1928 where he won his first major league game.
He first came to the Valley in 1928 to work and moved to the Valley in the early 1930s, calling it home for more than 50 years. His baseball playing included playing for Valley semi-pro teams during the 1930s and 1940s both before and after the professional baseball season. Caldwell's career record boasted 323 wins in the minor and major leagues combined.
In 1946, Caldwell posted a 13-4 record with the Chicago White Sox, had a 2.07 ERA, and finished 13th in the American League MVP voting won by Ted Williams that year. He played two more years for the White Sox before joining the Boston Red Sox in 1948 in a trade to beef-up their relief staff for a pennant run that came up one game short of the World Series, a World Series that would have paired them against their cross-town rival, the Boston Braves.
After playing for Boston's Triple-A Birmingham Barons in 1949 and 1950, he joined the Harlingen Capitals in 1951, winning 39 games in two seasons. He finished his professional baseball career in 1954 at the age of 49.
