Stephen Souchock (March 3, 1919 – July 28, 2002), nicknamed "Bud," was a

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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and a former

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

who served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His Major League Baseball career lasted a total of eight years, after he served in the military for three years. Born in

Yatesboro, Pennsylvania Yatesboro is an unincorporated community located in Cowanshannock Township, Pennsylvania. The community is located west of Rural Valley. Yatesboro has a post office with ZIP Code 16263. The elevation is 1,132 feet. Yatesboro appears on the Rur ...

, Souchock worked on the assembly line at a

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

factory during his early life. He also played semi-pro

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

for the Dearborn Club in 1938. During his

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

career, he batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Minor League Baseball

New York Yankees' scout

Bill Skiff William Franklin Skiff (October 16, 1895 – December 25, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, manager and scout. Although he appeared only briefly in Major League Baseball in 22 total games as a catcher and pinch hitter for th ...

had scouted Souchock and eventually he signed with the New York Yankees in June 1939. From 1939 to 1942, Souchock played baseball in the New York Yankees organization. In 1942, Souchock was the Eastern League

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and won the league batting title with a batting average of .315.

Military service

In 1943, the Yankees were possibly going to call-up and use Souchock as a replacement for

Buddy Hassett John Aloysius "Buddy" Hassett (September 5, 1911 – August 23, 1997) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Bees / Braves, and New York Yank ...

as first baseman in Major League Baseball, but he instead entered military service that January. He served in the 691st Tank Destroyer Battalion of the 87th Infantry Division, US Army. He served in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

. Serving in the military for three years, he eventually earned the rank of First Sergeant. He fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. His unit was attached to Patton's 3rd Army. Toward the end of his military service, Souchock earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

as commander of a five-man gun crew. He returned home with five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s in late 1945, Souchock said, "The war cost me three important years, as it did many ballplayers." On December 6, 1945, at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Souchock was discharged from military service.

Major League Baseball

The following year on May 25, 1946, Souchock made his major league debut with the New York Yankees. That year, he played 47 games and batted .302 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. He had been listed at 6-02½ in height, and 203 lb. in weight. He played two baseball seasons with the New York Yankees, until being traded on December 14, 1948, by the New York Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder

Jim Delsing James Henry Delsing (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who is most remembered for having been the pinch runner for -tall Eddie Gaedel on August 19, 1951. He also was the centerfielder replaced by ...

. He played in 84 games with the Chicago White Sox, hitting seven home runs. On November 16, 1950, Souchock was drafted by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

from the Chicago White Sox in the 1950 rule 5 draft. For the last five years of his Major League Baseball career, Souchock played with the Detroit Tigers. He broke his wrist in 1954, which ended his effectiveness. His last game was played on April 15, 1955. He later managed in the Yankee farm system (1956–1960) and scouted for them and the Tigers. Souchock died on July 28, 2002, in Dearborn, Michigan.

References

External links

Steve Souchock
at Baseball Almanac
Steve Souchock at baseball-stars.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souchock, Steve 1919 births 2002 deaths Akron Yankees players United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Pennsylvania Binghamton Triplets managers Binghamton Triplets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago White Sox players Detroit Tigers players Detroit Tigers scouts Easton Yankees players Fort Lauderdale Yankees managers Greensburg Senators players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball outfielders Montgomery Rebels players New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Norfolk Tars players Sacramento Solons players United States Army soldiers