{"id":34771,"date":"2026-05-03T12:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/?p=34771"},"modified":"2026-05-03T12:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:47:44","slug":"an-in-depth-look-at-a-one-eyed-major-leaguer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/03\/an-in-depth-look-at-a-one-eyed-major-leaguer\/","title":{"rendered":"An In-Depth Look at a One-Eyed Major Leaguer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MLB

MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis<\/p><\/div>\n

Much has been written about baseball during World War II when the military draft stripped rosters of all able-bodied men. While most minor leagues suspended operations, the major leagues soldiered on, so to speak, thanks to President Franklin Roosevelt<\/a>\u2019s famous \u201cgreen light\u201d letter to Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis<\/a>. Reasoning that baseball would boost morale on the home front, FDR urged major league baseball to maintain operations during the war.<\/p>\n

With all that major league talent gone for the duration, major league rosters were rife with men who would not have been there in peacetime. Over-the-hill veterans and 4Fs were commonplace. I don\u2019t think \u201cHire the Handicapped\u201d was a policy back then, but MLB certainly did so. The most famous example was Pete Gray<\/a>, the one-armed outfielder who toiled for the St. Louis Browns in 1945. Equally remarkable, though much less celebrated, was Paul O\u2019Dea<\/a>, the Cleveland Indians\u2019 one-eyed outfielder.<\/p>\n

Having two good eyes would seem to be as essential to playing baseball as having two arms. Imagine losing not just depth perception but a big chunk of peripheral vision. The brain can compensate to some degree, and you could probably continue to function so far as routine tasks go \u2013 but playing professional baseball?\u00a0 A huge drawback in the field or at bat. Nevertheless, O\u2019Dea beat the odds. In fact, he became a baseball lifer.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea came into the world on July 3, 1920, in Cleveland. He graduated from West Technical High School in Cleveland in 1938 and immediately signed with the Indians and was sent to one of their lowest affiliates (they had six Class D teams!), the Fargo-Moorhead Twins of the Northern League. He batted and threw left-handed. Though heavy-set (6 ft, 200 lbs.), he was not a power hitter.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea\u2019s professional playing career began before he turned 18. The results for half a season in 1938 were good: a .362\/.382\/.515 slash line. Promoted to the Class C Springfield (Ohio) Indians of the Middle Atlantic League in 1939, O\u2019Dea played a full season and hit .342 with a career-best 8 home runs. The big-league Indians took note and invited him to spring training in Fort Myers in 1940.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this invitation had the potential to be a pivotal event in his baseball career \u2013 and it was, but not in a positive way. O\u2019Dea was struck in the right eye by a foul ball and lost sight in that orb.<\/p>\n

The Indians stuck with O\u2019Dea but what to do with him?\u00a0 He did come back in 1940, though he remained at Class C (the affiliation shifting to Flint of the Michigan State League), where he hit .344, albeit in just 96 AB. This was certainly encouraging, but could he keep it going in the future?<\/p>\n

In 1941 O\u2019Dea was all over the minor league map. He played at Class C (he returned to Flint and also played for Charleston (WV) in the Middle Atlantic League), Class B (Portsmouth (VA) of the Piedmont League) and Class A (the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Class A Eastern League).<\/p>\n

He spent most of his time (195 AB) at Portsmouth where he hit a mere .226. But in limited at bats (86) at Wilkes-Barre he hit .326. For the season, he hit a composite .254. O\u2019Dea wasn\u2019t embarrassing himself, but it was debatable as to what level of play was a good fit for him.<\/p>\n

In 1942 the Indians chose to send him to the Class B Cedar Rapids Raiders of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (typically referred to as the Three-I) League in 1942. One wonders if it occurred to O\u2019Dea that the league had two eyes more than he did.<\/p>\n

At any rate, he spent the entire season there, helping the Raiders win the league championship. In part-time duty (245 AB) he hit .261. He had even been called upon to pitch in four games.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea had held his own but not excelled at Class B. Did he deserve a promotion or not?\u00a0 The question was moot since most minor leagues suspended operations in 1943. The Indians had just three affiliates that season. O\u2019Dea was too good for the Class D Batavia Clippers of the short-season PONY (Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York) League. Did he deserve to be promoted back to Class A Wilkes-Barre?\u00a0 He certainly wasn\u2019t good enough for the Double-A Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Playing for Cleveland was out of the question \u2013 or was it?<\/p>\n

In 1943 the Indians were not the only team in town. As was the case in many large cities, semi-pro leagues were alive and well. A five-year minor league veteran, though he was only 22 years old, O\u2019Dea was able to keep his hand in the game by playing semi-pro ball in the Indians\u2019 backyard.<\/p>\n

When O\u2019Dea was born, the city billed itself as \u201cThe Sandlot Capital of the World.\u201d\u00a0 Enormous crowds packed Brookside Park (a municipal park, not a ballpark) to watch amateur teams. For more information, see \u201cCleveland\u2019s Brookside Park: Not a Mistake and Not on the Lake\u201d (posted on this web site on April 18, 2023).<\/p>\n

In fact, former major leaguers occasionally appeared on such teams. The first baseball game ever played at Municipal Stadium in 1931 was a match-up of amateur teams, both sponsored by Shriners chapters. Among the players was Rube Marquard, an 18-year veteran (winner of 201 games) whose major league career ended after the 1925 season, and Lee Meadows, a 15-year veteran (winner of 188 games) who was just two years removed from the Pittsburgh Pirates.<\/p>\n

Every year Municipal Stadium hosted a tournament of amateur teams to benefit the Cleveland Baseball Federation, a non-profit group that funded sandlot baseball programs. So, playing semi-pro ball in Cleveland in 1943 wasn\u2019t exactly under the radar and was a pretty good way for a career minor leaguer in limbo to keep his hand in the game.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t turn up any internet data on O\u2019Dea\u2019s 1943 season. I can\u2019t tell you the name of his team or how well he did. He must have done pretty well, however, because the Indians brought him back in 1944 and promoted him \u2013 not to Single-A or Double-A ball but to the major league roster!<\/p>\n

Ironically, in late April O\u2019Dea\u2019s number was called by Uncle Sam. Obviously, he was classified 4F. One might wonder how someone who is fit enough to play major league ball \u2013 one eye or not \u2013 isn\u2019t good enough to join the military. Of course, if you were a soldier on patrol and you had to ask your one-eyed buddy to cover you, you might have a different opinion. Having one eye is a handicap in baseball playing and soldiering but only in the latter is it a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n

\"PaulOf course, for a one-eyed man to make a major league roster \u2013 even during the manpower-depleted World War II years \u2013 was an accomplishment. Even if he sat on the bench, it was remarkable. So, it was a pleasant surprise when O\u2019Dea hit .318 in part-time duty (198 plate appearances). He learned to play first base and even made a few appearances on the mound. The Indians, however, were also-rans (72-81), finishing in a tie for fifth place with the Athletics. The big story in the American League in 1944, of course, was the one and only pennant for the St. Louis Browns.<\/p>\n

In 1945, however, the results were not so benevolent. O\u2019Dea hit just .235 (52 for 221). He did get his only major league home run (off Don Black of the A\u2019s) on May 19th<\/sup> in a 2-1 victory at Cleveland\u2019s League Park. The Indians finished in fifth place again but above .500 (73-72). One might note, however, that when the Indians played the Browns on June 8th<\/sup> in Cleveland, baseball history was made. Pete Gray was in left field for the Browns and O\u2019Dea was in right field for the Indians. Without researching the topic, I feel confident it was the first major league game with a one-armed player and a one-eyed player.<\/p>\n

Since the war ended before the end of the 1945 season, O\u2019Dea likely figured out his major league career would be short-lived. He did report to spring training in Clearwater in 1946 but the Indians released him before the regular season. So he resumed his minor league career. As eventful as his career had been, he still had youth on his side. He was only 25.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea played 44 games for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association in 1946 (the former was a White Sox affiliate, the latter a Browns affiliate). Of course, the Triple-A rosters were also stocked with returning veterans, so his playing time was limited. Then came another pivotal moment in his career.<\/p>\n

In 1947 the Indians invited him back as a player-manager for their minor league system. So at age 26, his managerial career was launched. Over the next few years he managed three Class C teams (Burlington (IA), Rockford, and Fort Smith) and one Class D team (Enterprise, AL).<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea\u2019s playing career continued through 1951. He retired with 602 hits and a .317 average for his minor league totals. That same year, while managing the Fort Smith Indians of the Class C Western Association, he appeared in 24 games as a pitcher, logging 77 innings with a 3.74 ERA. Granted, it was Class C, but he must have wondered if he had been miscast as a position player. Would he have fared better as a one-eyed pitcher than a one-eyed position player?<\/p>\n

Having retired as a player, he continued his managerial career. During the rest of the 1950s, he managed one Class C team (Fargo-Moorhead) and three Class D teams (Cocoa, Batavia, and Selma). At age 40, he retired as a manager. He still drew a paycheck from the Indians, however. He began as a scout and worked his way up to director of minor-league operations. Somewhere along the line, he had managed to get a degree from Cleveland\u2019s Case Western Reserve University. He died, appropriately enough, in Cleveland in 1978.<\/p>\n

When O\u2019Dea reached the major leagues in 1944 it was an event worthy of Ripley\u2019s Believe It or Not. Ripley featured Pete Gray in his comic strip but somehow missed out on O\u2019Dea. Perhaps because his handicap was more visible, Gray received much more publicity than O\u2019Dea. O\u2019Dea might have attracted more attention if had sported an eyepatch. Had he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he would have been the face of the franchise!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much has been written about baseball during World War II when the military draft stripped rosters of all able-bodied men. While most minor leagues suspended operations, the major leagues soldiered on, so to speak, thanks to President Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s famous \u201cgreen light\u201d letter to Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Reasoning that baseball would boost morale […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1893,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4235],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-stories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1893"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34774,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34771\/revisions\/34774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}