his favorite players. Garver started pitching for his town's local semipro baseball team, also playing baseball and basketball at Ney High School. As a senior in 1943, Garver helped the high school baseball team reach the state championship, where he suffered the loss in a 3–2 defeat. Garver's performance with the semipro team caused three MLB teams to be interested in him: the St. Louis Browns, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Washington Senators. He did not think he would be able to take advantage of any of these opportunities, as he enlisted in the United States Naval Air Corps in the fall of 1943. However, he was discharged the following spring because his feet were flat. Garver's manager with the semipro team, P. L. McCormick, contacted the Browns, who signed Garver to a minor league contract. Professional career Minor leagues (1944–1947) Garver began his professional career at age 18 in 1944 with the Newark Moundsmen, St. Louis' affiliate in the Ohio State League (OSL). On July 19, he threw a no hitter against the Marion Diggers. Garver ultimately pitched in 32 games for the team, going 21–8. He led the OSL in wins, earned run average (ERA) (1.21), and innings pitched (245). In the playoffs, he defeated the Middletown Red Sox three times, ultimately helping the Moundsmen to the first OSL championship since the league was put on hiatus due to World War II. The following season, Garver pitched briefly for the Browns' Single-A affiliate, the Elmira Pioneers of the Eastern League, before being promoted to the Double-A Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association. In Toledo, he served as both a starting pitcher and a reliever, starting 15 games while making 16 relief appearance. He went 5–8 with an ERA of 4.64 and a walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) figure of 1.712. In 1946, Garver was sent to the San Antonio Missions, another Double-A team in the St. Louis Browns organization, and he would stay there until the end of the 1947 season. During his two years in San Antonio, Garver went 25–22 with an ERA of 3.43. According to Garver, the Browns nearly called him up in September 1947 when rosters expanded in September, but they decided to keep him in San Antonio when Ox Miller had his contract sold to the Chicago Cubs, as this left the Missions short of pitchers. St. Louis Browns (1948–1952)