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Ambidextrous Pitcher Charley Friene - Athletics 1910


Connie Mack Will Have Accomplished Athlete on His Team

The Western Sentinel (Winston-Salem, NC), 4 Feb 1910

When Connie Mack and his Athletics play in Greenville on the afternoon of March 28, he will have on his team an ambidextrous pitcher. This young man answers to the name of Charley Friene and can deliver a ball to the batter as good with his left hand as he can with his right. Here is what they say of him:

"Charley Friene has come to terms with Connie Mack and mailed back his contract. The Philadelphia club will have in Friene a young pitcher of unusual ability. He is an ambidextrous thrower. There are very few pitchers who can shoot the ball over the plate with either hand, but Friene has done it.

He has pitched part of a game with his right hand and finished up with his left. Friene usually pitches with his right. It is only when he is tiring or has some dangerous southpaw hitter that he pokes them over with his left. John Reilly discovered the youngster, who is a graduate of Santa Clara College, and recommended him to Connie Mack."

Found on Newspapers.com .

An Ambidextrous Pitcher Bobs Up


The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, Ohio) 9 Mar 1910
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Charley Friene Allows but Five Hits

Oakland Tribune (Oakland, CA) 1 Jul 1909

Charley Friene, the young Santa Clara College pitcher, was too good yesterday and Bill Bloomfield wasn't good enough. That tells the story of the second game of the Oakland-San Jose series. The score against us was 5 to 2. Oakland made five hits from Friene's delivery and they were scattered over as many innings , while the Prune Pickers hammered Bloomfield for 11 safeties. Eight of the eleven were made by Lovette and Hap Smith, each of whom got four.

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Best Tractors Trim All-Star In Big Game

Charley Friene Helps Make Pennant Day a Success by His Pitching

Oakland Tribune (Oakland, CA) 21 Oct 1918
By Maury Pessano

The C.L. Best Tractors of San Leandro celebrated the raising of the Oakland Tribune pennant presented to them as champions of the Mission League by handing Fred Krumb's Mission League All-Stars a 5-to-1 beating.

It was due to the great pitching of Charley Friene, who did a come-back on the mound after a long layoff, and even though the All-Stars gathered eight hits off his delivery the kept them pretty well scattered.

The Best Tractors had one of the biggest days that was ever held in San Leandro, when they hoisted the pennant to the flag pole in center field.

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Charley Friene - Baseball-Reference.com
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