Stubby Overmire was born in Moline, went to high school at Wyoming Lee, played baseball for what is now Western Michigan University, pitched for 10 years in the Major Leagues, earned two World Series championship rings and then coached and managed.
He was just 5-foot-7 and weighed 170 pounds and it resulted in the nickname that stuck and became his identity.
After being a standout at Lee, the lefthander caught the eye of the Detroit Tigers’ scout Wish Egan while playing at Western State Teachers College (now WMU) from 1938 through ’41.
He signed with the Tigers as an undrafted free agent, spent a few years in the minors and made his Major League Baseball debut in 1943. He pitched for the Tigers for seven years, was part of the 1945 (Tigers) World Champions, then pitched three seasons with the St. Louis Browns before a final season in 1951 where he pitched in 15 games with the New York Yankees (World Champions). He was 58-67 with a 3.96 ERA for his career and had his best season in ’47 with the Tigers going 11-5 with a 3.77 ERA.
In 1945, Overmire started 22 games and won nine for the American League pennant-winning Tigers. He was the starting pitcher in Game 3 of the 1945 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, He gave up two runs in six innings pitched and took the loss (3-0 shutout). The Tigers went on to win the series in seven games.
After his playing days he launched into coaching and managing at several stops in the minor leagues and was the pitching coach with the Tigers from 1963 through ’66 and ended his career as manager in Lakeland (Fla.) with the Tigers organization from 1971-75.
He suffered a stroke in 1977 and died. He was 56.
A baseball field for Lee athletics is named in his honor, and an annual fundraiser and card show to benefit the high school baseball team and Lee athletics is named after him and held at Lee High School. The 14th annual event was presented in November of 2019.