Howard Earle Twining was a one game pitcher in 1916 – but it was merely a pit stop on the way to becoming a doctor… His Baseball-Reference.com profile notes a nickname of Twink – but I think that is a mixup relating to another athlete who had that nickname, Clarence “Twink” Twining. Clarence was an amateur basketball and baseball star in the Pacific Northwest in the 1920s. You never see Earl Twining referred to as Twink while an active professional.

Twining arrived May 30, 1894 in Horsham, Pennsylvania – the first child of two born to J. Howard and Anna (Jones) Twining – the father a farmer and the mother a busy caretaker to two children. They were raised as Quakers in Horsham, the religion of Anna Jones’ family.

Earl “Twig” Twining (I once saw “Twig” in an article about a game he won over Penn in college) was captain of his baseball team while at Swarthmore. After his graduation, he was signed by the Reds and given just one chance to pitch in a major league game during the six or seven weeks he was employed by Cincinnati. In the second game of a July 9, 1916 double header, he pitched the last two innings of the game, gave up three hits (including a homer), walked one, and beaned one – accounting for three runs. Brooklyn’s Jimmy Johnston got that homer in the ninth, his only homer of the season. The Cincinnati Post declared that Earl Twining “… had a nice motion,” but “…had nothing with which to deceive the Dodgers.” Describing him physically, the Post added, “Twining appears a husky chap in uniform, but in street clothes he looks very slight and boyish.”

Twining was also called “Doc.” This nickname frequently appeared in a few articles covering semi-professional games in which he pitched – because he was a doctor. More on that in a paragraph… In 1921, he helped Glenside win the Philadelphia Suburban League for the first time in 14 seasons, striking out 16 in the pennant clincher.

After his flirtation with baseball was over, Twining got down to business – he graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, then went to Vienna to complete training in Dermatology. He was much more successful there – a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and the head of dermatology at the Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital before his retirement. (He was also a 32nd Degree Mason…) In addition to maintaining his private practice serving a number of Pennsylvania hospitals, Dr. Twining used his medical skills with the US Naval Training Center and the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia during World War II.

Dr. Twining and Dorothea Twining were married for more than 25 years until their divorce in 1958. He then married Josephine Smith and they remained a happy couple until his death on June 14, 1973. Neither marriage produced children. Earle and Josephine are buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania.

As an aside, Twining had a few moments of documented misfortune. He was on his way to a hospital when a series of telephone and power poles all fell – one landing on Twining’s car. Fortunately, he escaped injury. He was also the victim of a few burglaries. His car was stolen in 1922, and six kids broke into his home and stole a rifle, shotgun and other items in 1948, leading to a long prison term for the leader of that group.

Notes:

1900, 1930, 1940, 1950 US Census
WWI Draft Registration
Pennsylvania Veteran Compensation Files
Pennsylvania Marriage Records
Florida Marriage Records
Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records
Photo from 1915 Swarthmore Yearbook (via Ancestry.com)

“Reds May Land Pair of Rah-Rah Hurlers,” Cincinnati Post, June 7, 1916: 6.
“Chase Drives in All the Reds Runs in Second Game,” Cincinnati Post, July 10, 1916: 6.
Tom Swope, “Neale Again Shows He is Year’s Find,” Cincinnati Post, July 20, 1916: 6.
“Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 18, 1916: 6.
“Glenside Clinches Suburban Pennant,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 31, 1921: 21.
“About Bucks Co.,” Perkasie (PA) Central News, January 11, 1922: 3.
“11 Poles Fall in Road,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 14, 1932: 8.
“Sentences Burglar to Penitentiary,” Perkasie (PA) Central News-Herald, February 16, 1950: 14.
“Howard Twining, 78, Hahnemann Doctor,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 17, 1973: 30.