Career
A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 207 games pitched in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Giants between 1941 and 1948. The native of Zion, Illinois, nicknamed "L"il Abner", stood 6 feet 2 inches (188 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). Erickson was a contributor to the Cubs" 1945 National League championship, the team"s most recent pennant.
He saved the final two games of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field, then worked in four of the seven games of the 1945 World Series, all Cub defeats, including the decisive Game 7 against the Detroit Tigers.
He had no decisions in the Fall Classic, and in seven innings pitched he surrendered three earned runs on eight hits and three bases on balls for a 3.86 European Research Area. He had three strikeouts. The following season, 1946, saw the return to action of MLB players in military service during World World War II, but Erickson enjoyed his best year in the Majors, winning a career-best nine games and posting a 2.43 European Research Area. Altogether, as a Major Leaguer, Erickson worked in 814⅓ innings and gave up 774 hits, with 425 bases on balls and 432 strikeouts.
