First game August 2, 1904 vs. Philadelphia in St. Louis
Last game August 3, 1904 vs. Philadelphia in St. Louis
Age: 17
Career record: 2 G, 4 PA, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 SO
Arthur Bader made his major league debut in 1904 for the St. Louis Browns at age 17 year, 316 days, the youngest player in the majors at that time. One day later, at age 17 years, 317 days, his major league career was over (although no one knew it). The Browns gave Bader a start on August 2, 1904 against Philadelphia. The Browns were doing poorly, Bader was a local boy and the son of a popular former local ball player (Herman Bader), and the Browns were trying to boost attendance. Pitching for Philadelphia that day was Rube Waddell, the hard-throwing future Hall of Famer. Waddell was in the midst of a season in which he would strike out 349 batters, post a 1.62 ERA, and finish with 11.3 WAR. On that day, however, he was not at his sharpest, striking out four, but also walking four and hitting three. (One of those three was Harry Gleason, hit in the head by a pitch in the sixth inning. He wound up with a concussion.) The St. Louis Republic described Bader as a trifle nervous at the bat. Welcome to the majors, kid! Against Waddell, Bader grounded out, struck out and walked. He did make two plays in the outfield. According to the St. Louis Globe Democrat, "his work was decidedly promising". The next day, on August 3, Bader pinch hit in the ninth inning for Browns pitcher Roy Siever, making an out in a 10-4 loss. Bader would play professionally for six more years, but an injury ended his chances at playing in the majors again.
After his two games with the Browns, Bader entered law school at Washington University in the fall of 1905. The following spring, at the end of the school year, Bader went to Colorado and joined the Western League club in Colorado Springs. He transferred with the club to Pueblo later in the summer and played 92 games for the season, hitting .247. He played two more summers with Pueblo, hitting .305 in 1906 and .346 in 1907 (in only 62 games). At age 20, he was more than eight years younger than the average player in the Western League in 1907. He continued school at Washington University in the offseason.
In 1908, Bader was traded by Pueblo to Des Moines in the Western League. The sale was announced in newspapers in Iowa and Chicago in mid-July; Bader was hitting .330 at the time. He remained with Des Moines, and on August 17 he was hit in the head by a pitched ball on August 17. According to reports of the game, he was unconscious for ten minutes, and when he came to, he wasn't able to move briefly. When the club left Denver, Bader stayed behind. On August 29, the Des Moines Register reported that Bader wouldn’t play again that season.
In 1909, Bader went to the West Coast in the spring to train with the White Sox. He failed to make the big-league club and was sent back to Des Moines. After a brief holdout, he reported and played a full season, hitting .293 with 5 home runs and a .376 slugging percentage. Des Moines, last in the Western Association in 1908, finished first in the Western Association in 1909. Despite this success, Bader was not signed by any major league club. In the spring of 1910, he skipped spring training to complete his studies at Washington University. When he finally reported to Des Moines in early June, the club was doing poorly, and Bader fit right into that. With no spring training, he started his season going 2-22 at the plate. He played 70 games for Des Moines, and his passion wasn't there. He hit. 204 in 240 at bats and was released in mid-August. His baseball career was over at the age of 23, just over six years after it started with his two games in the majors.
Bader returned to St. Louis and opened a law firm. In 1913, the new Federal League placed a minor league club in St. Louis, and Bader invested in the club. In 1914, when the Federal League, with the Terriers, declared themselves a major league, Bader took the position of club secretary. He returned to his law practice after the Federal League folded following the 1915 season. He then followed his father into politics in St. Louis and served as an assistant city attorney and as a judge for the Court of Criminal Correction. He was elected as a circuit court judge in 1930. In 1941, a few years after losing his re-election bid, he was appointed as excise commissioner by the mayor of St. Louis. He held that post until early 1957, when he took leave for health reasons. He died of a heart attack on April 5, 1957.
A lot of the information in this article came from the biography of Art Bader written by Bill Lamb and published on the SABR website. Posted May 6, 2020
