William John Koski (February 6, 1932 – July 12, 2014) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Listed at 6' 4" (1.93 m), 185 lb. (84 kg), he batted and threw right handed. Born in Madera, California, Koski was one of the many promising young players whose career was interrupted by army service in

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He starred at

Modesto High School Modesto High School is a public high school in Modesto, California, United States. It offers the International Baccalaureate Program and the Avid program, Performing Arts Program and was the first public school to do so in the Central Valley of ...

and, at age 19, pitched in 13 games for the Pirates during the 1951 season. His statistics were what you would expect from a very young pitcher relying primarily on his blazing fastball. He posted a 0-1 record and a 6.67

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, allowing 23 runs (20 earned) on 26 hits and 28 walks, while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

seven in 27.0

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s of work. In his only starting assignment, Koski lasted 4⅓ innings against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

, giving up three earned runs on four hits and six walks, striking out two of the 23 batters he faced. The Giants won, 8–3, as he was credited with the loss. ′′T-Bone′′, as he was nicknamed, started 1952 back in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

, but his stuff impressed Pirates' owner

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

so much that the visionary executive tried to recall Koski to the big club early in August. Unfortunately, Koski had been drafted into the Army and needed to report for duty on August 21.The Modesto Bee : Jeff Jardine column - Top News
/ref> Following his discharge in 1954, Koski returned to the minors and pitched until 1957. In a seven-season career, he had a record of 39-48 with a 4.14 ERA in 138 pitching appearances. After retiring, Koski moved to

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, where he worked as a draftsman for the Stanislaus County Planning Department. Besides, he stayed involved in amateur baseball as a coach in youth leagues and as the pitching coach at California State University, Stanislaus. Koski died in 2014 at the age of 82.

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