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While there have been hundreds of Kentucky baseball players that have reached the major leagues, the number is much smaller when you look specifically at Western Kentucky, west of a line from Bowling Green to Owensboro. Among those is a Crittenden County resident who spent time with a pair of National League teams nearly a century ago.
Floyd Clark “Rip” Wheeler was 23 years old when he made his major league debut on September 30, 1921, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wheeler hit the majors as a right handed pitcher. That game in 1921 would be Wheeler’s only game for the season. Wheeler also saw action for the Pirates in one game in 1922. He pitched a total of four innings for Pittsburgh over the two years.
Wheeler moved over to the Chicago Cubs for the 1923 season, and saw action in three games. He picked up his first pitching decisions of his career, going 1-2 for the year, with 5 strikeouts.
Wheeler’s final year in the majors, in 1924, was the year he saw the most time on the mound. He pitched in 101 1/3 innings, compiling a record of 3-6, with an ERA of 3.91. Wheeler finished with 21 strikeouts for the season.
After his brief career playing in the majors, Wheeler spent some time coaching in the minors before returning to Marion to go into business. He would also serve for 21 years as a conservation officer, before retiring in 1963.
Wheeler passed away in September of 1968 at Crittenden County Hospital at the age of 70.
Rip Wheeler was inducted into the Marion-Crittenden County Hall of Fame in 2010.
