Joseph Wheeler Sewell (October 9, 1898 – March 6, 1990) was an American professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees from 1920 to 1933. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Sewell was a member of two World Series-winning teams. He holds the record for the lowest career strikeout rate in major league history, striking out on average only once every 73 plate appearances, and the most consecutive games without a strikeout, at 115.
Early life
Joseph Wheeler Sewell was born on October 9, 1898, in Titus, Alabama.
Sewell attended Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Alabama. He led the school baseball team to four conference titles.
Professional career
Minor leagues
Sewell joined the minor league New Orleans Pelicans in 1920, where he played a partial season before being called up to the "big league".
Sewell's patience and daily work ethic became his hallmarks over the following decade and a half. Playing with Cleveland until 1930 and the New York Yankees from 1931 to 1933, Sewell batted .312 with 1,141 runs, 1,054 RBI, 436 doubles, 68 triples, 49 home runs, 842 bases on balls and a .391 on-base percentage. He regularly scored 90 or more runs a season and twice topped the 100 RBI plateau in 1923 and '24. He hit a career-high 11 home runs in 1932.
Sewell played in two World Series, in 1920 and 1932, winning both times. His 1977 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame was by the Veterans Committee. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. (He joined the Indians' roster after September 1, 1920, and normally would not have been eligible to participate in post-season play, but Wilbert Robinson, manager of the Brooklyn Robins, waived the rule because of the circumstances with Chapman.)
Personal life
thumb|upright|right|110px|Plaque of Joe Sewell at the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]
Two of his brothers, Luke and Tommy, also played major league baseball. Tommy played in one game with the Chicago Cubs in 1927, and Luke played for four teams over 20 years and, as manager of the St. Louis Browns, led the team to its only pennant in 1944. After his retirement, Sewell worked as a public relations man for a dairy and was a major league scout.
One of his pitchers was future NFL standout, Alabama quarterback and 1966 MLB 10th round draftee (Yankees) Ken "The Snake" Stabler.
Death
Sewell died on March 6, 1990 at the home of his son, Dr. James Sewell in Mobile, Alabama at the age of 91. He was the last surviving member of the 1920 World Champion Cleveland Indians.
Posthumously, Sewell's community (Elmore County) has established a scholarship award recognizing local high school seniors who exhibit Christian character, leadership in their community, strong academic standing, and athletic achievements. Sewell graduated from Wetumpka High School in 1916.