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Early Years
Elwood "Woody" George English was born on March 2, 1906 on a farm near Granville in Fredonia, a small town in Licking County Ohio. His early years were spent with his father in Centerburg, OH, where he attended primary school and played second base on the school team. When his father passed away, Woody moved to Newark, OH to live with his mother. (see map)
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After completing high school, Woody worked part time for a couple local industrial companies, Pure Oil and Firestone Rubber. Working did not lessen his passion for baseball so he played on the Pure Oil team on Sundays and another industrial team throughout the week.
Later in 1924, he tried out for the Hamilton and Zanesville semi-pro baseball teams, and played for the Zanesville Greys at the position of short stop. The semi-pro league which the Zanesville Greys team was associated had many players with major league experience. One such player, Al Schwietzer, who had played for the St. Louis Browns, recommended Woody to the Toledo Mud Hens. At the end of the baseball season, Woody went to Toledo and signed a contract for the following 1925 season. His salary was to be $300 a month which Woody later said, "It seemed like a million dollars to me,"