At the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, there is a statue of Johnny Podres releasing a ball. 60 feet 6 inches away is a statue of Roy Campanella. They commemorate the Brooklyn Dodgers winning their first World Series in 1955 over the Yankees. John Joseph Podres was born on September 30th in Witherbee, NY. His father was Joe Podres. Joe was a miner. His mom, Anna, worked in…
Born Edward Raymond Stankiewicz on Sept. 3rd, 1915, Eddie “The Brat” Stanky was a hard-nosed player, who made up for what baseball skills he lacked with a burning desire to win. His father, Frank, and his mother shortened their name to Stanky while Eddie was a child. They lived in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. A blue-collar section of the city. It was there that he developed his belligerent, enthusiastic,…
George Thomas Shuba was born on December 13, 1924, in Youngstown Ohio. His story is that of a typical average ballplayer. In parts of seven seasons, he appeared in 355 games, hit .259, and never played more than 94 games in any of those years. Nearly a third of his at-bats were as a pinch hitter. He played just long enough to collect an MLB pension, he actually counted down…
Billy Cordell Grabarkewitz was born on January 18th, 1946 in Lockhart Texas. He is the second child of Adolph Charlie and Helen Grabarkewitz. Lockhart, for those of you not familiar with the Lone Star state, is about 30 miles south of Austin. He was of Irish descent on his mother’s side. His paternal grandparents were Polish immigrants who came to central Texas in the last half of the 19th century….
Wallace Wade Moon, born 4/3/1930 in Bay Arkansas, was the son of Henry Albert Moon and the former Margie Leona Vernon. He was the second of their three children. Bay is a swampy hamlet by some railroad tracks. Henry was a factory worker who later became mayor of Bay. Henry would read every sports page he could get his hands on. Wally was named after Alabama football coach, Wallace Wade….
Frank Oliver Howard was born on August 8, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio to John and Erma Howard. His dad was a large man, 6’4″ over 200 pounds. He worked as a machinist for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in Columbus. His mother was a homemaker. Frank was the third of six children. The family lived in a modest frame house. “There was always lots of food on the table” Howard…
Edmundo Amoros Isasi was born on January 30th, 1930 in La Habana, Cuba. He was the youngest of six children born to Guillermo Amoros and Caridi Isasi. Guillermo, who labored in the sugar fields, died when his little boy was only 3. Caridi supported her family by working in a textile mill. Young Edmundo attended school for 8 years, but he too went to work in the mill when he…
Joeseph Benjamin Pignatano was born in Brooklyn NY on August 4, 1929. He would end up spending 38 years with baseball as his profession, 27 of those as a player or a coach in the Major Leagues. He was a member of two World Series Champions, the 1959 Dodgers as a player, and the 1969 Miracle Mets as a coach on Gil Hodge’s staff. Never a star, he was to…
William Jennings Bryan Herman was born on July 7th,1909 in New Albany Indiana. He was one of 10 children born to William and Elizabeth Herman. He was named after the former Secretary of State, and three-time Democratic nominee for President, William Jennings Bryan. He once commented that he was named after a loser, but he hoped it would not carry over to his baseball career. Bryan was also one of…
Our next subject is RHP Billy Loes. William Loes was born on the 13th of December, 1929 in Long Island City, NY. His parents were James and Filo Loes. He was an only child. His parents were Greek immigrants who had according to Loes, shortened their surname. He was raised in Astoria which was about a half-hour away from Ebbets Field. His family lived in a small apartment, and they…