Ray Stoviak
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Raymond Thomas Stoviak (June 6, 1915 – February 23, 1998) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the
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 ...
in 1938. He was the last player to be struck out in a major league game at the
Baker Bowl National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with a ...
in Philadelphia, on June 30, 1938. Stoviak graduated from Villanova College (now Villanova University) in 1938, where he quarterbacked the Wildcats for three years and led his team to a record of 22–4–2. He played for head coaches Harry Stuhldreher, one of the fabled Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, and Maurice J. "Clipper" Smith. Stoviak led the Wildcats to the Bacardi Bowl in Havana, played on January 1, 1937. There, Villanova battled
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to a 7–7 tie. He was inducted into Villanova's Varsity Club Hall of Fame on June 8, 1989. During World War II, he was a first lieutenant in the United States Navy stationed at
Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...
, and
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, where he coached baseball with Bob Kennedy and Ted Williams. In 1946, Stoviak was the backfield coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, serving under head football coach
William Reinhart William J. Reinhart (August 2, 1896 – February 14, 1971) was an American college basketball, football, and baseball coach at the George Washington University, the University of Oregon, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy. From 1923 to 1 ...
. In 1947 he was appointed head football coach at athletic director at Arnold College in Milford, Connecticut. He also coached baseball at Arnold. After Arnold was absorbed by the University of Bridgeport in 1953, Stoviak was appointed football coach and mathematics faculty at Meriden High School in
Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Yale University under Jordan Olivar. Stoviak suffered a severe stroke in February 1994 and subsequently moved into the home of his daughter in Costa Rica where he died four years later. He became the first Major League Baseball player known to have died in Costa Rica.


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1915 births 1998 deaths American football quarterbacks Major League Baseball outfielders Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Bridgeport Purple Knights football coaches Centreville Colts players Philadelphia Phillies players Villanova Wildcats baseball players Villanova Wildcats football players Yale Bulldogs football coaches United States Navy officers High school football coaches in Connecticut United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania {{US-baseball-outfielder-1910s-stub