Edward Frank Mierkowicz (March 6, 1924 – May 19, 2017), nicknamed "Butch" and "Mouse," was an American professional

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 ...

player. He played in

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), ...

from 1945 to 1950 as an

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 ...

for 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 ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. Mierkowicz was a member of the world champion 1945 Detroit Tigers team.

Early life

Born in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the coll ...

, Mierkowicz was the son of a factory worker who made gaskets. He lettered in three sports at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte and caught the eye of legendary Detroit scout,

Wish Egan Aloysius Jerome "Wish" Egan (June 16, 1881 – April 13, 1951) was a Major League Baseball player and scout. Playing career Born in Evart, Michigan, Egan played three seasons as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1902) and St. Louis Cardinals (19 ...

, during a high school baseball game. But upon graduating from high school, Mierkowicz was called up by the Army in 1942. Mierkowicz was discharged after contracting

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...

and was signed by Egan and the Detroit Tigers. Mierkowicz played in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

in 1944 and in Buffalo in 1945.

Major league career

At the end of the 1945 season, with the Tigers in a pennant race, Mierkowicz was called up. He played in 10 games in his rookie season, batting .133 for a Tigers team that won the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. T ...

. Mierkowicz stayed with the team for the World Series and was put in as a defensive replacement for

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

in the 9th inning of Game 7. Mierkowicz did not bat in the Series but he received a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

in his rookie season. In 1946, Mierkowicz spent most of the season in the minor leagues with Buffalo, but he did play in 21 games with the Tigers, batting .190. In 1948, he appeared in 3 games. He finished his major career on April 19, 1950, with the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out in his one and only at bat for the Cardinals. Mierkowicz continued to play professional baseball until 1957, including stints in Cuba, Mexico, and the

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1955. After his baseball career ended, Mierkowicz worked for 24 years at a waste treatment plant in

. He retired in 1984. He said his Major League career "was like a cup of coffee but no cream" but added that "God gave me the ability to play ball. Made a pretty good living. We didn't make a lot of money, but it was a lot of fun."

Later life

With the death of

Virgil Trucks Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batted ...

in 2013, Mierkowicz became the last living Tiger to play in the 1945 World Series and the last player to have played against the Cubs in a World Series until

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. There are no living players who played in an earlier World Series for the winning team. Mierkowicz died on May 19, 2017.Ed Mierkowicz: Downriver native was more than just a Major League Baseball player
/ref>

References

Sources

* Richard Bak, "''Cobb Would Have Caught It: The Golden Age of Baseball in Detroit''" (Wayne State Univ. Press 1991), Chapter 18 ("Ed Mierkowicz") * Patrick M. O'Connell

''Chicago Tribune'', February 23, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mierkowicz, Ed 1924 births 2017 deaths People from Wyandotte, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan Baseball players from Michigan Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Jets players Detroit Tigers players Hagerstown Owls players Houston Buffaloes players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (IL) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players St. Louis Cardinals players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Rainiers players Syracuse Chiefs players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players United States Army personnel of World War II American expatriate baseball players in Mexico