Boots Poffenberger

In 2003, actor Christopher Lloyd portrayed a character named "Dr. Cletus Poffenberger" (Boots' real first name was Cletus) on the television series Tremors.

Boots Poffenberger died in Williamsport, Maryland, in 1999 at age 84.

Boots joined the U.S. Marines and served in the South Pacific during World War II. His photograph was used on Marine recruiting posters. He returned to baseball in 1946 playing a final season for San Diego in the PCL.

Boots played for the Vols again in 1941 and was suspended for 90 days for throwing a ball at an umpire. During a game in Nashville, Poffenberger reportedly consumed "a few shots of gin" before taking the mound. He became angry at the umpire's calls and threw the ball at the umpire, resulting in the suspension. Boots later said of the umpire incident, "It just slipped up on me this time." In 1942, Boots moved on to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.

Though he never made it back to the big leagues, Boots had his best year in 1940 playing with the Nashville Vols in the Southern Association, a team that went 101–47 and has been ranked by MiLB.com as the 47th best team in minor league history. Poffenberger led the way with a 26–9 record for the 1940 Vols. Boots led the league in wins (the 2nd most was 18) and win percentage (.743).

In 1939, Poffenberger was claimed off waivers by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In May, Poffenberger was suspended by the Dodgers and fined $400 for breaking training rules. Boots pitched only five innings for the Dodgers before being sent to the minor leagues in Montreal. Poffenberger refused to report to Montreal (he asked to be sent to Beaumont instead, because he thought the night life was better) and was placed on the ineligible list for 1939.

After a strong rookie season, Boots held out for more money. When he returned, he was not able to match the success of his rookie season, finishing the season with a 6–7 record. The Tigers sent him to the Toledo Mud Hens before the 1938 season was over.

Born in Williamsport, Maryland, Boots Poffenberger played for the Beaumont Exporters in 1937, with a record of 9–1. He was called up to the Tigers mid-season and went 10–5 as a rookie in .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}137+1⁄3 innings with an earned run average of 4.67. His won-loss percentage of .667 in 1937 was seventh best in the American League. He was also ninth best in the league in saves (3) and tenth in hit batsmen (4). Boots also fell for the "hidden ball trick" as a rookie, caught by Frank Crosetti on July 16, 1937.

Boots was only 21 years old when he debuted with the Tigers, and his career spun out of control within two years. Baseball writer Joe Falls wrote that "Poffenberger aroused great expectations with a 10–5 season as a rookie in 1937, but his performance never approached the heights of his antics...He loved to live it up. In fact, some days he did not show up for work. He became known as the ‘Duke of Duckout'."

Stories about Poffenberger's late night drinking and poor training practices caused him to fall out of favor with the team. After a night of heavy drinking while on a road trip with the Tigers in 1937, Poffenberger called room service and said, "I'll have the breakfast of champions." When asked if he wanted cereal, Poffenberger replied, "Hell, no. Two fried eggs and a bottle of beer."

Cletus Elwood "Boots" Poffenberger (July 1, 1915 – September 1, 1999) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1937–1939) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1939).