Major League Baseball Player. For ten season (1933 to 1942), he was a pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns. Born Elden LeRoy Auker, while attending Kansas State University he distinguished himself as a quarterback with their football team (achieving Second-Team All-American status) in addition to playing baseball. He was offered a professional contract with the Chicago Bears however he chose to pursue a baseball career. He marked his Major League debut with Detroit on August 10th, 1933 and pitched in 15 games that year, recording 3 wins. Auker developed a side-arm pitch which earned him the nickname “Submarine” and although it did not result in a great deal of strike outs it kept hitter off balance. In 1934, he experienced the first of two consecutive American League Pennant runs including Detroit’s capturing of the World Series in 1935. He totaled 3 career World Series contests with a 1 win 1 loss record in 17 innings pitched. In 1934, he won 15 games and produced a career high 18 victories in 1935, while topping the league with a .720 winning percentage. In 333 regular season games, he compiled a 130 win 101 loss record, with a 4.42 lifetime ERA in 1,963 innings pitched. Following his baseball career, he resided in Massachusetts where he worked in the abrasives industry. Up until the end of his life, Auker remained active in baseball functions and was on hand during Tiger Stadium’s closing ceremonies in 1999. (bio by: C.S.)