Robert Lee Turley (September 19, 1930 – March 30, 2013), known as "Bullet Bob", was an American professional baseball player and financial planner. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1951 through 1963. After his retirement from baseball, he worked for Primerica Financial Services.
Turley made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Browns in 1951, and stayed with the team through their first season in Baltimore, when he appeared in his first MLB All-Star Game. After the 1954 season, he was traded to the New York Yankees. With the Yankees, Turley appeared in two more All-Star Games. He led the American League in wins in 1958, and won the Cy Young Award, World Series Most Valuable Player Award, and Hickok Belt that year. He finished his playing career with the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox in 1963, and then coached the Red Sox in 1964.
Turley began working in financial planning during the baseball offseason. In 1977, he cofounded with Arthur L. Williams Jr. the company that would become Primerica. He also invested in real estate, buying and selling 27 houses in Florida.
Turley was born in Troy, Illinois. He was raised in East St. Louis, Illinois. He attended East St. Louis Senior High School in East St. Louis, and played for the school's baseball squad for three years. He was used as both a starter and reliever, becoming the staff's ace pitcher by the end of his senior season, in 1948. Turley won the team's sportsmanship award that year.
Bill DeWitt, the general manager of the St. Louis Browns, brought Turley to Sportsman's Park for a tryout. Turley also attended a workout camp for the New York Yankees, held in Maryville, Illinois. The day after he graduated from high school in 1948, Turley signed with the Browns as an amateur free agent. He received a $600 signing bonus ($8,040 in current dollar terms).
Minor leagues and St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles
Turley made his professional debut that year in Minor League Baseball with the Belleville Stags of the Class D Illinois State League, pitching to a 9–3 win–loss record. He was promoted to the Aberdeen Pheasants of the Class C Northern League in 1949, and led the league in wins with 23, and strikeouts with 205. He split the 1950 season with the Wichita Indians of the Class A Western League and the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League. Turley led Wichita in the Western League playoffs. In 1951, he played for San Antonio. He appeared in the Texas League's All-Star Game, and was named the league's most valuable player at the end of the season. He struck out 22 batters in one game for San Antonio.
Turley played his first game in the major leagues on September 29, 1951. He lost to the Chicago White Sox. He did not pitch again in 1951, and after the season ended, he enlisted with the United States Army for two years. Turley returned to the Browns in August 1953, and caught attention for his high strikeout rate. Turley remained with the team after they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. He earned $9,000 ($107,900 in current dollar terms) for the 1954 season. He pitched the first game at Memorial Stadium, striking out nine in a complete game. A power pitcher, Turley recorded many strikeouts, but did not have great control. For the 1954 season, he led the American League in strikeouts with 185, but also led the league with 181 walks. That year, he earned comparisons to fellow fireballer Bob Feller, and finished in third place in balloting for the Hickok Belt, given to the professional athlete of the year.
While playing for the Orioles, Turley obtained the nickname "Bullet Bob". The magazine Look wrote a story about Turley, and wanted to measure the velocity of his fastball. They used a bullet timer from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, which recorded a speed of 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) by the time it reached home plate.
Casey Stengel, the manager of the New York Yankees, sought to acquire Turley. The Yankees needed younger starting pitchers, as their rotation fell off due to the ages of Allie Reynolds, Eddie Lopat, Johnny Sain, Tommy Byrne, and Jim Konstanty. In order to acquire the hitting the Orioles decided they needed to compete, they traded Turley to the Yankees after the 1954 season. The Yankees received Turley, Billy Hunter, Don Larsen, and players to be named later, while the Orioles acquired Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, Gene Woodling, and players to be named later. To complete the trade, the Yankees sent Bill Miller, Kal Segrist, Don Leppert, and Ted Del Guercio to the Orioles, and the Orioles sent Mike Blyzka, Darrell Johnson, Jim Fridley and Dick Kryhoski to the Yankees. Comprising 17 players, this trade remains the largest in MLB history.
Turley played for the Yankees from 1955 to 1962. In the 1955 season, Turley won 17 games for the Yankees, and recorded 210 strikeouts, second to Herb Score (245). However, he also led the league in walks with 177. The Yankees won the American League pennant, and advanced to the 1955 World Series, where they faced the Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched in the third game of the series but was tabbed for four runs as he was taken out in the second inning of the subsequent 8–3 loss.. He subsequently appeared in two relief for Game 5 and Game 6 as the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in seven games.
Turley had a disappointing season in 1956, with an 8–4 win–loss record and a 5.05 earned run average (ERA). However, the Yankees again won the American League pennant. Turley appeared in the first two games of the World Series against the Dodgers as a relief pitcher. He was tabbed to start Game 6 against Clem Labine; Turley pitched a complete game, but the Yankees lost the game by a 1–0 score to force a decisive Game 7, although the Yankees won that game to win the series and give Turley his first championship.
In the 1957 season, Turley developed a curveball. He finished the season with a 2.71 ERA, good for fourth-best in the American League as the Yankees won the pennant again. In the World Series that year, facing the Milwaukee Braves, Turley was tabbed to start Game 3, but after loading the bases in the second inning, he was taken out for Don Larsen, who finished the game en route to victory. In Game 6, Turley was the starter and threw a complete game, allowing four hits and two runs as the Yankees staved off elimination with a 3–2 victory; the Yankess lost the next day in Game 7 to lose the series.
Fellow pitcher Sal Maglie wrote during 1958 spring training that Turley "ha[d] started to step off the mound when things get a little shaky, take a couple of deep breaths and then go back to work." Maglie thought this helped with Turley's self-control, a characteristic Maglie considered one of the three most essential to a successful pitcher.
By the 1958 season, Turley changed his delivery in an effort to improve his control, by using a no-wind up pitching position. He proved to have his best season that year when he won 21 games and lost seven, for an American League-leading .750 winning percentage. He also led the American League with 19 complete games, and finished with the sixth-best ERA (2.97), although his 128 walks also led the league. Turley started Game 2 of the World Series against the Braves and proceeded to allow a leadoff home run to Bill Bruton to go along with two further hits and a walk before being taken out for Duke Maas, one of four pitchers utilized to get 26 combined outs as the Yankees lost for the second straight game. Facing elimination in Game 5, Turley threw a complete-game shutout to keep the Yankees alive. In Game 6 one day later, Turley was tabbed to step in for Ryne Duren in the 10th inning with the Yankees up 4-3 with two outs and two runners on base to face Frank Torre. He got him to lineout to second base to end the game. In Game 7 the following day, he relieved Don Larsen in the third inning and won his second game in three days, throwing 6+2⁄3 innings of two-hit relief. The Yankees became just the second team to recover from a 3–1 World Series deficit, and Turley was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. As a result of his 1958 season, Turley won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, receiving twice as many votes as Jim Brown, the second-place finisher. He also won the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, edging Warren Spahn of the Braves by one vote, and Lew Burdette of the Braves and Bob Friend of the Pittsburgh Pirates by two votes. Turley finished second in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, losing to Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox. Additionally, he won The Sporting News' Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year Awards.