Thomas Edward Niedenfuer (born August 13, 1959), is a retired
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
right-handed
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. He attended high school in
Redmond, WashingtonRedmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
and was a standout pitcher in college for
Washington State UniversityWashington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
under coach Bobo Brayton. He left school before completing his senior season. He is a native of
St. Louis ParkAs of the census of 2000, there were 44,126 people, 20,782 households, and 10,557 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,122.5 persons per square mile . There were 21,140 housing units at an average density of 1,975.0 per square mile...
,
MinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Playing career
Niedenfuer played for the
Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, the
Baltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, the
Seattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
and the
St. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
and was primarily used as a
relieverA relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
during his ten-year career, which began in the strike-shortened season and ended after the season.
He is best remembered for giving up Ozzie Smith's game-winning
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
during Game 5 of the
1985 National League Championship Series-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1985 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe opening contest in Los Angeles pitted Dodgers screwballer Fernando Valenzuela against the Cardinals' twenty-game winner, John Tudor. The pitchers matched zeroes through the first three innings, but in the bottom of...
prompting broadcaster
Jack BuckJohn Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
's "Go crazy, folks!" play-by-play call.
Personal life
Tom Niedenfuer is currently married to actress
Judy LandersJudy Landers is an American film and television actress.-Early years:Landers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was raised in Rockland County, New York. She is the daughter of Ruth Landers, and is the younger sister of fellow actress Audrey Landers...
and resides in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
External links
Bell, Christopher, Scapegoats: Baseballers Whose Careers Are Marked By One Fateful Play (c) 2002 McFarland and Company