Wayne Triplett
Class of 2016
Wayne Triplett grew up on his family farm in Dutch Corner and attended Bedford Area High School. He started playing baseball at the age of 14, and two years later, he would lead the Cumberland team to the national championship in junior American Legion baseball.
Triplett served as one of the two pitchers on the team. The 1934 American Legion World Series, a best-of-three playoff, was held in Chicago’s two major league ballparks: Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) and Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox). The American Legion World Series was often referred to as the “Little World Series.”
The Cumberland team faced off with New Orleans for the championship crown. New Orleans stole game one from Cumberland, scoring four runs in the final frame to secure the victory. Triplett was the pitcher of record. Cumberland would go on to tie the series in the second game in dramatic fashion, with a 4-3 win in 12 innings. This would set the stage for Triplett in a rematch of game one.
In the third and deciding game of the national championship, Triplett provided his masterpiece. In his complete game dominance, he only allowed one run on 3 hits. He would go on to record the final out of the ball game via one of his nine strikeouts at Comiskey Park. Each of the games drew over 10,000 fans, including the first commissioner of Major League Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. American League umpires umpired the games.
During the National American Legion Tournament, Triplett hurled multiple gems. In the regional tournament at Bethlehem, Triplett struck out 14 in a 6-1 victory over Huntington, W.V. He pitched in a 6-0 win over Cincinnati, fanning 11 hitters, and only allowing 3 hits. Triplett also beat York in a 2-1 showdown for the regional title. The opposing pitcher in that contest was lefthander Ken Raffensberger, who would go on to pitch in the majors for Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
After his success during the American Legion World Series, two teams vied for the opportunity to sign him to a professional baseball contract. Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox expressed interest in the young pitcher. After careful consideration and discussion with his family, Triplett signed with the Boston Red Sox.
In 1935, Triplett arrived in Charlotte, N.C. in time to appear in one game that season with the Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets were the Boston Red Sox’s Class B minor league affiliate, which would be equal to high-A ball by today’s minor league classifications. In his professional debut in the Piedmont League, Triplett went nine innings, allowing only two earned runs.
The 1936 campaign would be the first and only full season of the farm boy from Dutch Corner. Triplett amassed 218 innings and recorded 13 wins in 40 games for the Rocky Mount Red Sox, which had moved from Charlotte. His 13 wins placed him 13th in all the Class B leagues.
Pitching for the Canton Terriers, a Red Sox minor league affiliate in 1937, Triplett suffered an arm injury that forced him to end his career. He would finish his professional career with 292 innings, 18 wins, and 20 losses. He then returned to Bedford County, but not before a tour in the European Theatre of World War II.
In 1945, Pfc. Triplett had been left for dead during the Battle of Bulge. He was shot in the head, apparently by a German sniper. Unconscious for several hours, he then awoke and stumbled and crawled through a foot and a half of snow before coming to a field station about a mile away from where he was injured.
Triplett had been shot above the eye, and the bullet went down and came out his mouth. Doctors and surgeons were able to repair some damage, and later, once back in the United States, they were able to do a complete facial reconstruction surgery. Once he recovered from the injury, he decided to return to the diamond, this time on the fields of his home in Bedford County.
The injuries suffered from the war or from his professional baseball career did not stop him from finding success on the local circuits. Triplett played first base and pitched for Schellsburg into the 1960s. At the age of 42, he pitched his first career “no-hitter” against Centerville.
Wayne Triplett lived an amazing life from a little farm in Dutch Corner, to an American Legion World Championship, a professional baseball career, the battlefields of World War II, and back. He would live out the rest of his life in Schellsburg, PA and retired as a long haul truck driver after 25 years of service. He spent most of his free time with his family and friends as well as hunting and fishing.
Wayne Triplett passed away in 1982 at the age of 66. He left his wife Mary Isabel (Hyde), who passed in 1985) and three children: Barbara wife of Jack Shoemaker, residing in the Bedford area; Robert and wife Ingrid of Boiling Springs; and William and wife Thelma, of Schellsburg.
Triplett served as one of the two pitchers on the team. The 1934 American Legion World Series, a best-of-three playoff, was held in Chicago’s two major league ballparks: Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) and Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox). The American Legion World Series was often referred to as the “Little World Series.”
The Cumberland team faced off with New Orleans for the championship crown. New Orleans stole game one from Cumberland, scoring four runs in the final frame to secure the victory. Triplett was the pitcher of record. Cumberland would go on to tie the series in the second game in dramatic fashion, with a 4-3 win in 12 innings. This would set the stage for Triplett in a rematch of game one.
In the third and deciding game of the national championship, Triplett provided his masterpiece. In his complete game dominance, he only allowed one run on 3 hits. He would go on to record the final out of the ball game via one of his nine strikeouts at Comiskey Park. Each of the games drew over 10,000 fans, including the first commissioner of Major League Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. American League umpires umpired the games.
During the National American Legion Tournament, Triplett hurled multiple gems. In the regional tournament at Bethlehem, Triplett struck out 14 in a 6-1 victory over Huntington, W.V. He pitched in a 6-0 win over Cincinnati, fanning 11 hitters, and only allowing 3 hits. Triplett also beat York in a 2-1 showdown for the regional title. The opposing pitcher in that contest was lefthander Ken Raffensberger, who would go on to pitch in the majors for Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
After his success during the American Legion World Series, two teams vied for the opportunity to sign him to a professional baseball contract. Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox expressed interest in the young pitcher. After careful consideration and discussion with his family, Triplett signed with the Boston Red Sox.
In 1935, Triplett arrived in Charlotte, N.C. in time to appear in one game that season with the Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets were the Boston Red Sox’s Class B minor league affiliate, which would be equal to high-A ball by today’s minor league classifications. In his professional debut in the Piedmont League, Triplett went nine innings, allowing only two earned runs.
The 1936 campaign would be the first and only full season of the farm boy from Dutch Corner. Triplett amassed 218 innings and recorded 13 wins in 40 games for the Rocky Mount Red Sox, which had moved from Charlotte. His 13 wins placed him 13th in all the Class B leagues.
Pitching for the Canton Terriers, a Red Sox minor league affiliate in 1937, Triplett suffered an arm injury that forced him to end his career. He would finish his professional career with 292 innings, 18 wins, and 20 losses. He then returned to Bedford County, but not before a tour in the European Theatre of World War II.
In 1945, Pfc. Triplett had been left for dead during the Battle of Bulge. He was shot in the head, apparently by a German sniper. Unconscious for several hours, he then awoke and stumbled and crawled through a foot and a half of snow before coming to a field station about a mile away from where he was injured.
Triplett had been shot above the eye, and the bullet went down and came out his mouth. Doctors and surgeons were able to repair some damage, and later, once back in the United States, they were able to do a complete facial reconstruction surgery. Once he recovered from the injury, he decided to return to the diamond, this time on the fields of his home in Bedford County.
The injuries suffered from the war or from his professional baseball career did not stop him from finding success on the local circuits. Triplett played first base and pitched for Schellsburg into the 1960s. At the age of 42, he pitched his first career “no-hitter” against Centerville.
Wayne Triplett lived an amazing life from a little farm in Dutch Corner, to an American Legion World Championship, a professional baseball career, the battlefields of World War II, and back. He would live out the rest of his life in Schellsburg, PA and retired as a long haul truck driver after 25 years of service. He spent most of his free time with his family and friends as well as hunting and fishing.
Wayne Triplett passed away in 1982 at the age of 66. He left his wife Mary Isabel (Hyde), who passed in 1985) and three children: Barbara wife of Jack Shoemaker, residing in the Bedford area; Robert and wife Ingrid of Boiling Springs; and William and wife Thelma, of Schellsburg.
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County Sports
Hall of Fame
Class of 2016