Archives Baseball History

Eddie Joost starting wearing eye-glasses, learned how to take pitches with the result that his hitting improved as well as his on-base-pct. In 1949, Joost walked 149 times, on-base-pct of .429, slugged 25 doubles and 23 home runs. Joost's career stats: .361 on-base-pct, .239 BA, scored 874 runs, with 238 D and 134 HR's.

Eddie Joost is still an all-time favorite with the fans in Philadelphia and as a fact- in 1990 over 1,500 baseball loyalist lined up at a trading card show to get Joost's Autograph. Thanks for the memories. Baseball Historian

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To view a few newspaper clippings from the 1950s, type in the words Today in Time into our 'Search' located on the Home Page. Thanks

At age 26, Dobson spent the entire 1944 & 1945 seasons in the Military serving our country during World War II. Dobson still managed to win 106 games from 1941-50 with the Red Sox while losing only 72 games.

Boston Red Sox Baseball History

After the war in 1946. Joe Dobson's pitching carried the Red Sox into the World Series against the Cardinals. He hurled 12 2/3 scoreless inning in the World Series and won one game but the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Crown . Joe Dobson was at his peak in 1947 and went 18-8, ERA 2.95, started 31 games, completed 15, pitching in 228 innings.

He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1951 and the following season was 14-10 with an impressive ERA of 2.51. Joe Dobson was one of baseballs' winningest pitchers during the 1940's and seemed to win the big games with his fine pin-point control.

Dobson pitched in 2170 innings and allowed only 2048 hits. His career stats: Record 137-103, pct .571, 414 games, 22 shutouts, ERA 3.62. baseballhistorian.com research dept Boston Red Sox archives

In 1940, Barney McCosky batted .340, scored 123 runs, led the AL in triples (19) and tied for the league lead in base hits with 200. His great fielding, high speed on the base paths and high batting mark helped the Tigers win the pennant in 1940. In the World Series vs. the Reds, he hit .304, scored 5 runs only to see the Tigers lose to the Reds in seven games.

McCosky hit .324 and .293 the next two seasons, then lost three full seasons while in his prime to military service during World War II. When he returned after the war he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics for Hall of Famer George Kell in May of 1946. He responded by hitting .318, .328 and .326.

McCosky lost all of the 1949 season with a serious back injury and when he returned in 1950, he was mostly a part-time player with the Reds and Indians. Barney McCosky was a .312 career hitter in 1170 games, lined 1301 hits, 214 doubles, 71 T with an excellent .386 lifetime on-base-pct.

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Baseball History Archives from baseballhistorian.com

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Eddie Yost attended New York University and went directly to the Washington Senators in 1944, played only seven games and was drafted by the Military during World War II. In 1947, he became the Senators' regular third baseman and lead-off hitter.

Eddie Yost played 838 consecutive games (1949-1955), the 8th longest streak in major league baseball history. He led the AL in walks six times, drawing more than 150 and 140 once each. Every year from 1946-1960 the AL leader in walks was either Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle or Eddie Yost.

In 1959, Yost hit six lead-off homers and ranks 4th in history in lead-off HR's with 28. Possessed with average speed, he stole 72 career bases but was regarded as the best fielding 3rd baseman of his time. Yost led all major leaguer 3rd baseman in putouts a record 8 times and his carrer total ranks third all-time. Eddie Yost played the majority of his games for losing teams but still managed to score 1215 career runs. In his long career, Eddie hit 337 D, 56 T, 139 HR's, 1614 walks. Yost is one of only seven major leaguers to record more walks in a season than hits. Nine times he had an on-base-pct over .400 with the high being .440 in 1950. "The Walking Man", Eddie Yost's, life-time on-base-pct was .395.

He then joined the U.S. Navy until the last weeks in 1945, the year the Tigers won the World Series. Virgil Trucks with his blazing fastball won Game 2 of the World Series as the Tigers beat the Cubs 4-1.

Fireball Trucks was a rarity in that he led the league in strikeouts and had great pin-point control; issuing few base-on-balls. In 1946, Virgil Trucks was 14-9, pitched in 237 innings, 161 K's and only 75 W's.

In 1949, he led the league in strikeouts - 153 and was second in ERA - 2.81and went 19-11.

The highlight of his career came in 1952 when he hurled two no-hitters but finished with a 5-19 record.

Virgil Trucks was traded to the White Sox in 1954 and he responded by going 19-12, ERA of 2.79, pitched 5 shutouts in 264 innings.

Fireball Trucks' Career stats: 177-135, started 328 games, completed 124, and pitched 33 shutouts with 1534 strikeouts. baseballhistorian.com

He was the starting 1st baseman for the NL in the 1943 ALL-Star game and was promptly drafted into military service.

After the war Elbie Fletcher returned to the Pirates and played until 1949. His career stats: .271 BA in 1415 games, he slugged 79 home runs and had 616 RBI's. baseballhistorian.com

Billy Cox made his major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1941 and then was called away for 4 years of military duty, 1942-45. Upon his return in 1946, Billy Cox batted .290 and was the Pirates regular shortstop.

He was traded to Brooklyn in late 1947, moved to 3rd base and performed acrobatic feats while throwing out runners with his rifle arm. In his seven years with the Dodgers, Billy Cox's fielding helped lead them to three NL pennants.

Due to the four years spent in the U.S. Military, he played only 10 full seasons in the major league. Billy Cox's career Stats: .262 BA, 1058 games, 174 doubles. World Series stats: 3 WS, 15 games, .302 BA with 6 RBI's.

Listen-up fans; --- Billy Cox ranks in the top ten in all-time fielding 3rd basemen, he was surely one of the best. Manager at baseballhistorian.com

In 1942, as the ace of the Boston pitching staff, Tex had an 2.59 ERA, led the AL in wins, 22-6, complete games with 22, K's -113 and innings pitched 281.

Tex Hughson was the dominating pitcher during the pre-war years and in 1944, he went 18-5 and 2.26 ERA.

He was called into military service in 1945, and missed the entire season. Tex returned in 1946 and again won 20 games, helping the Red Sox win the AL pennant. He was the starting pitcher in the opening game of the World Series. Hughson pitched outstanding ball into the 9th inning before being relieved - the Red Sox won 3-2 in ten innings.

The next season, he injured his pitching arm and was moved into the bull-pen. Tex Hughson's career record: 96-54, pct .640, 225 games, 1,376 innings.

While on furlough, Murry Dickson pitched in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. After spending the next two full seasons in the Army, in 1946, Dickson came back and led the league in winning percentage, going 15-6, pct of .714.

His record fell to 12-16 in 1948 and was traded to the last place Pittsburgh Pirates in 1949, going 12-14, ERA 3.29. Dickson had his best season in 1951, with a record 20-16, starting 35 games while completing 19, with 3 shutouts and 2 saves. Murry Dickson's career: 172-181, ERA 3.66, 625 games, pitched 27 shutouts in 3052 innings. Baseballhistorian.com

In 1944, at age 28, he went into the U.S. Military during World War II, and spent the next two seasons in military service. His weight went from 185 to 225 and he changed his pitching motion slightly and which caused him to lose the zip on his fastball. Bithorn never regained his prior stuff and upon his return to the Cubs he was used mainly as a reliever. He was released after the season.

He pitched for the Pirates in spring training in 1947, but was cut from the team. He joined the White Sox but pitched only two innings before leaving baseball for good. Hi Bithorn career: 34-31, 509 innings with a 3.16 ERA. baseballhistorian.com

The next year he went into the U. S. Air Force. While pitching in the military against his' Cardinal teammates in a exhibition game, Beazley failed to warm up properly and severely injured his' pitching arm.

Upon his return to the Cardinals after the war in 1946, Johnny Beazley never regained his' effectiveness. After a little more than three part-time seasons, he retired. Johnny Beazley's career numbers: 31-12, ERA of 3.01 in 374 innings.

He was in the U.S. Military for the next two seasons and returned to the Yankees in 1946. Billy Johnson, nicknamed "the Bull" drove home 95 runs in 1947, made the AL's All-Star team and set a World Series' record by whacking three triples and also scored 8 runs. In 1948, Johnson hit .294 and led the AL third baseman in chances per/game.

Billy Johnson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in May of 1951 and hit a career high 14 HR's. Billy Johnson's career: .271 batting average in 964 games, with 487 RBI's. "The Bull" played in four World Series, all with the New York Yankees. Baseballhistorian.com

His power numbers soared in 1947 when he blasted 36 home runs, batted .291, 102 runs and 107 RBI's. His power totals never approached his high of 36 but in 1948 he lined 43 extra base hits. Willard Marshall was rated as one of the top fielders in the league, with a powerhouse of a throwing arm.

He played the entire 1951 season without making an error. Marshall had an excellent batting eye and usually walked twice as many times a he struck-out. In 1949 he batted .307 for the Giants, walked 78 times and fanned only 20 times for an fine .401 on-base-pct. He was traded to the Boston Braves in 1950 and the following season hit .281, 24 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs. Playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1953, Willard Marshall hit 17 home runs along with 62 RBI's. Willard Marshall career numbers: .274, 1160 hits, 163 doubles, 130 home runs, walked 458 times, struck-out 219 times in 4233 at bats in 1246 games. baseballhistorian.com archives

Most of the pitchers below were drafted or joined the U. S. Military at the onset of World War II in 1942... hence their major league careers were short-lived. All American Heroes!

Anyway, here's our list of Mound-Stays:

By staff@baseballhistorian.com -

Innings Pitched in 1941:

Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians 343... Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Red Stockings 302... Thornton Lee, Chicago White Sox 300.3... Kirby Higbe, Brooklyn Dodgers 298... Whit Wyatt, Dodgers 288.3... Eddie Smith, White Sox 263... Emil 'Dutch' Leonard, Washington Senators 256... Bobo Newsom, Detroit Tigers 250.3 ... Sid Hudson, Senators 249.7... Rip Sewell, Pittsburgh Pirates 249... Lon Warneke, St. Louis Cardinals 246... Jim Tobin, Boston Braves 238... John Rigney, White Sox 237... Max Butcher, Pirates 236... Claude Passeau, Chicago Cubs 231... Al Milnar, Indians 229... Paul Derringer, Red Stockings 228.3, Johnny Vander Meer, Red Stockings 226.3... Elmer Riddle, Red Stockings 216.7... Eldon Auker, St. Louis Browns 216... Bob Muncrief, Browns 214.3... Dick Newsome, Boston Red Sox 213.7... Ernie White, Cardinals 210... Marius Russo, New York Yankees 209.7... Al Smith, Indians 206.7... Hal Schumacher, New York Giants... 206.

note: this page has moved to: http://www.baseballhistorian.com/american_heroes.cfm?hero=669

After going 13-8 for Montreal (minors) he was brought up to Brooklyn in '49. He appeared in 20 games in 1950, and completed 2 of 10 starts, with a 5-4 record, 5.33 ERA and gathered 2 saves.

Traded to Cincinnati in 1953, Podbielan was one of the team's workhorses - threw 186.3 innings, started 24 games, completed 8, and finished with a 6-16 record for a Reds' team that ended up at 68-86, 37 games behind the pennant winning Brooklyn Dodgers. From 1955 on, was mainly used as a reliever... Clarence 'Bud' Podbielan career stats: 25-42, 4.49 ERA, 172 G, 76 GC, 20 GC, 2 Shutouts in 641 innings... a .154 lifetime batter with 29 hits.

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Hall of Famers, catcher Yogi Berra and center fielder Joe DiMaggio both drove in over 120 runs.

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Yankee Pitching Stats - 1950

Vic Rashi 21-8, 4.00 ERA in 33 Games... Tommy Byrne 15-9, 4.74 ERA in 31G... Ed Lopat 18-8, 3.47 ERA in 35G... Allie Reynolds 16-12, 3.74 ERA in 35G... Whitey Ford 9-1, 2.81 ERA in 20G... Tom Ferrick 8-4, 3.65 ERA in 30G... Joe Ostrowski 1-1, 5.15 ERA in 21G... Joe Page 3-7, 5.04 ERA in 37G...

Bob Poterfield 1-1, 8.69 ERA in 10G... Don Johnson 1-0, 10.00 ERA in 8G... Lew Burdette 0-0, 6.75 ERA in 2G... Fred Stanford 5-4, 4.55 ERA in 26G... Dave Madison 0-0, 6.00 ERA in 1G... Ernie Nevel 0-1, 9.95 ERA in 3G... Duane Pillette 0-0, 1.29 ERA in 4G...

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Yankee Batting Statistics - 1950

Yogi Berra .322 BA, 28Hr, 124 RBIs in 151 Games... Joe DiMaggio .301 BA, 32 Hr, 122 RBIs in 139G... Hank Bauer .320 BA, 13 Hr, 70 RBIs in 113G... Jerry Coleman .287 BA, 6Hr, 69 RBIs in 153G... Bobby Brown .267 BA, 4Hr, 37 RBIs in 95G... Joe Collins .234 BA, 8Hr, 28 RBIs in 108G...

Tommy Henrich .272 BA, 6Hr, 34 RBIs in 73G... Billy Johnson .260 BA, 6Hr, 40 RBIs in 108G... Jim Delsing .400 BA, 0Hr, 2 RBIs in 12G... Johnny Hopp .333 BA, 1Hr, 8 RBIs in 19G...Jackie Jensen .171 BA, 1Hr, 5 RBIs in 45G... Sal Yvars .143 BA, 0Hr, 0 RBIs in 9G... Ralph Houk .111 BA, 0Hr, 1 RBI in 10G... Johnny Lindell .190 BA, 0Hr, 2 RBIs in 7G...

Phil Rizzuto .324 BA, 7Hr, 66 RBIs in 155G... Cliff Mapes .247 BA, 12Hr, 61 RBIs in 108G... Gene Woodling .283 BA, 6Hr, 60 RBIs in 122G... Billy Martin .250 BA, 1Hr, 8 RBIs in 34G... Charlie Silvera .160 BA, 0Hr, 1 RBI in 18G... Hank Workman .200 BA, 0Hr, 0 RBIs in 2G... George Snuffy Stirnweiss .000 BA in 7G... Johnny Mize .277 BA, 25Hr, 72 RBIs in 90G... Dick Wakefield .500 BA, 0Hr, 1 RBI in 3G... Gus Niarhos 0 AB in 1G...

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