George Steve Vico (August 9, 1923 – January 14, 1994), nicknamed "Sam", was a 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 from 1941–1957 who spent two years in the major leagues with 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 ...

(1948–1949).

Career

Born in

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...

, Vico was a

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 ...

. Before reaching the major leagues, Vico played for the Fulton Tigers,

Muskegon Reds The Muskegon Reds was the primary name of the minor league baseball franchise in Muskegon, Michigan that existed on-and-off from 1890 to 1951. History Muskegon played in the Michigan State League (1890–1902, 1911–1914, 1926, 1940–1941), Cen ...

, and

Winston-Salem Twins Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

in 1941 and 1942. His career was interrupted for three seasons (1943–1945) as he served in the U.S. Navy 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 ...

. After the war, Vico played for the

Salem Senators The Salem Senators are the longest lasting name used by several minor league baseball teams based in Salem in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team name derived from Salem being the capital of Oregon. The team was founded in 1940. The current incar ...

and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. In 1948, Vico made it to the major leagues with the

. In his first at bat in the major leagues on April 20, Vico hit a home run off Joe Haynes on the first pitch he faced. Vico had another impressive game on August 14, when he collected 7 RBIs, 2 doubles, a triple and a home run. (If Vico had held up on his second double, he could have hit for the cycle.) Vico was the Tigers' starting first baseman in 1948, playing in 144 games and batting .267 with 139 hits, 23 doubles, 9 triples and 8 home runs. As a rookie, Vico was among the 1948

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

leaders with 9 triples (9th in AL), 7 times hit by a pitch (2nd in AL), 17 sacrifice hits (4th in AL), and 23 times grounded into a double play (2nd in AL). Vico also had a good season as a fielder in 1948. His range factor of 8.83 was 1.79 points higher than the average first baseman that year. He had 1,165 putouts, 85 assists, and 112 double plays. In 1949, Vico's batting average dropped by 77 points to .190. In 67 games, he had only 15 hits. Vico was sent to the minor league

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

after the 1949 season. Vico continued to play in the minor leagues until 1957 with the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 19 ...

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, San Francisco Seals,

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 ...

and

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

. Vico had a small uncredited acting part in the 1949 movie ''

The Stratton Story ''The Stratton Story'' is a 1949 American biographical film directed by Sam Wood that tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1938. The film is the first of three ...

'' playing the part of the "Detroit Ball Player."https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0896064/ Vico was the son of Serbian immigrants. He died at age 70 in 1994 at

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

, and is buried at United Serbian Cemetery in

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010 United States Cen ...

References

External links

Sam Vico on Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vico, George 1923 births 1994 deaths American people of Serbian descent Major League Baseball first basemen Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from California People from San Fernando, California Salem Senators players Portland Beavers players United States Navy personnel of World War II Fulton Tigers players San Fernando High School alumni

Career

See also

References

External links