View source for Turk Farrell

{{Short description|American baseball player (1934–1977)}}
{{for|the talk radio host|Dick Farrel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name= Turk Farrell
|image = Dick Turk Farrell.JPG
|caption = Farrell with the Dodgers
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1934|4|8}}
|birth_place=[[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1977|6|10|1934|4|8}}
|death_place=[[Great Yarmouth|Great Yarmouth, England]]
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 21
|debutyear=1956
|debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 17
|finalyear=1969
|finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=106–111
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.45
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,177
|teams=
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1956}}–{{mlby|1961}})
* [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{mlby|1961}})
* [[Houston Astros|Houston Colt .45s / Astros]] ({{mlby|1962}}–{{mlby|1967}})
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1967}}–{{mlby|1969}})
|highlights=
* 5× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1958 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1958]], [[1962 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (first game)|1962]], [[1962 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (second game)|1962²]], [[1964 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1964]], [[1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1965]])
}}

'''Richard Joseph''' "'''Turk'''" '''Farrell''' (April 8, 1934 – June 10, 1977) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[pitcher]] who played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) from {{by|1956}} to {{by|1969}}, spending his entire 14-year MLB career in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL). He threw and batted [[right-handed]]. Farrell's son is former MLB pitcher [[Richard Dotson]].<ref name="Stark">{{ cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2056094/2020/09/11/there-might-be-a-family-secret-richard-dotsons-real-life-fable/ |  url-access=subscription | title='There might be a family secret': Richard Dotson's real-life fable | last=Stark | first=Jayson | author-link=Jayson Stark | date=September 11, 2020 | website=[[The Athletic]] | access-date=September 12, 2020 }}</ref>

==Career==
Born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], he played for the NL [[Philadelphia Phillies]], [[Los Angeles Dodgers]], and [[Houston Astros|Houston Colt .45s / Astros]].

Before the 1953 season, Farrell was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent. The 19-year-old began his [[Minor League Baseball]] (MiLB) career with the class A [[Schenectady Blue Jays]]. There, over a two-year span (1953–54), he would build a [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]] of 18–18, with a 3.30 ERA. He spent 1955 in the [[International League|IL]], with the [[Syracuse Chiefs]], going 12–12 with a 3.94 ERA; in 1956, he played for the [[Miami Marlins (International League)|Miami Marlins]], going 12–6 with a 2.50 ERA.

In September, 1956, Farrell would get a late-season look by the Phillies and would lose his only decision; but he set the groundwork for a 14-year run in the major leagues. Farrell was one of the young Phillies pitchers of the late 1950s, along with [[Jack Meyer]] and [[Jim Owens (baseball)|Jim Owens]], dubbed the "Dalton Gang" for their fun-loving late-hour escapades.<ref name="zoo">{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/1960/06/13/637793/the-dalton-gang-rides-again|title=The Dalton Gang Rides Again|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=June 13, 1960|first1=Walter|last1=Bingham|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714132810/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/1960/06/13/637793/the-dalton-gang-rides-again|archivedate=July 14, 2014}}  Retrieved July 21, 2016.</ref> "When he loses, he loses his temper," a teammate once said of Farrell, "but when he wins he's the life of the party."<ref name=BP1950ABD>Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=WIXeCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22when+he+loses+he+loses+his+temper%22&pg=PA109 ''Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers'']. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 109. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4688-9}}. Retrieved 2017-01-01.</ref> Bearing the brunt on one occasion was the mirror in a Milwaukee bar, broken by Farrell's fist with the explanation, "I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw, so I threw a punch."<ref name=BP1950ABD/>

Phillies fans liked what they saw of the {{height|ft=6|in=4}} hard-throwing rookie right-hander in 1957 when he was 10–2 plus 10 saves and a 2.38 ERA in 52 appearances out of the bullpen. On September 3, 1957, Farrell was the winning pitcher for the Phils in the last of fifteen home games the Dodgers played at the Jersey City Roosevelt Stadium, 3–2 in twelve innings. After four more seasons of relief work with the Phils, Farrell was traded to the Dodgers early in 1961.

Farrell was selected in the [[1961 MLB expansion draft]] by the [[Houston Astros|Houston Colt .45s]].  In [[1962 Houston Colt .45s season|1962]], Farrell finished with the seventh best [[earned run average|ERA]] at 3.02, but with a poor 10–20 record.

A starter in Houston, Farrell was used almost exclusively in relief with Philadelphia and Los Angeles. His career totals include 590 games pitched (134 starts), a won-loss record of 106–111, 83 [[Save (baseball)|saves]], and an ERA of 3.45.

He was selected to the National League [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] team five times (1958, 1962, 1962, 1964 and 1965) in his career.

Farrell last pitched in the major leagues on September 19, 1969, for the Phillies against the Expos in a game the Phillies lost 10–6.  Farrell went {{frac|1|2|3}} innings in the first game of a doubleheader at [[Jarry Park|Parc Jarry]], allowing one hit and striking out one.

==Later life==
Farrell moved to England, where he lived and worked on an offshore oil rig just off Great Britain in the North Sea.{{citation needed|date=January 2011}}

He was killed on June 10, 1977, in an auto accident in [[Great Yarmouth]], England, at age 43. He was buried in Houston, Texas.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{baseballstats|mlb=114028|espn=21468|br=f/farretu01|fangraphs=1003950|brm=farrel002ric|retro=F/Pfarrt101}}
*[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/180d81d6 Turk Farrell] at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
*[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=farretu01 Turk Farrell] at Baseball Almanac
*{{find a Grave|13583471}}

{{Houston Astros Opening Day starting pitchers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Turk}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Boston]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Houston Astros players]]
[[Category:Houston Colt .45s players]]
[[Category:Industriales de Valencia players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Mexican League baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Miami Marlins (International League) players]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies players]]
[[Category:Richmond Braves players]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in England]]
[[Category:Schenectady Blue Jays players]]
[[Category:Syracuse Chiefs players]]
[[Category:Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players]]