Michael Tresh Jr (February 23, 1914 – October 4, 1966) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, who 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), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1938–1948) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1949). Tresh batted and threw right-handed. His son, Tom, also played in the big leagues, from 1961 to 1969. In a 12-season career, Tresh posted a .249

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

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 and 297 RBI in 1027

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. His best season was 1940, when he batted .281 with 64 RBIs, 62 runs, and 135

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

—all career-highs. Tresh was durable enough to catch all 150 White Sox games in 1945, and is just one of three 20th century catchers to catch every one of an MLB team's games in a season. The others are

Frankie Hayes Franklin Witman "Blimp" Hayes (October 13, 1914 – June 22, 1955) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher between and , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics where ...

(

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

) and

Ray Mueller Ray Coleman Mueller (March 8, 1912 – June 29, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1944 and 1946 to 1951. Nicknamed "Iron Man", Mueller was the starting catcher in eve ...

(

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

), each with 155 games caught in 1944. After having suffered from a heart attack earlier in the year, Tresh died from cancer at the age of 52 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and is interred at Michigan Memorial Park in

Flat Rock, Michigan Flat Rock is a city mostly in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. A very small portion of the city extends into Monroe County. At the 2010 census, the city population was 9,878. History Flat Rock began as a Wyandot settlement. It was la ...

Early life

Tresh was born in

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

to Michael Tresh, a Galician immigrant, and Mary, a Pennsylvania native. He grew up with three sisters; Anna, Katherine, and Margaret. In the 1920s, his family moved from Pennsylvania to

, and Michael worked as a truck driver before becoming a baseball player. In the late 1930s, he moved in with his wife Doris's family in

Allen Park Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

, where his wife gave birth to their son, Thomas Michael Tresh.Year: ''1940''; Census Place: ''Allen Park, Wayne, Michigan''; Roll: ''m-t0627-01827''; Page: ''1B''; Enumeration District: ''82-48A''

References

External links

Mike Tresh
- Baseballbiography.com
Iron Men Catchers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tresh, Mike American League All-Stars Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Springfield Senators players Beaumont Exporters players Moline Plowboys players Henderson Oilers players Wausau Timberjacks players Shreveport Sports players Toledo Mud Hens players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Portland Beavers players Daytona Beach Islanders players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Pennsylvania People from Hazleton, Pennsylvania Deaths from cancer in Michigan 1914 births 1966 deaths

Early life

See also

References

External links