Thaddeus Stanley "Ted" Lepcio (July 28, 1929 – December 11, 2019) was an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

, 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

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies,

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 ...

, and Minnesota Twins. Lepcio attended

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

. A one-time semi-professional baseball player in

Oneida, New York Oneida (, one, kanaˀalóhaleˀ) is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle (in Oneida County) and east of Wampsville, New York, United States. The population was 11,390 at the 2010 census. The city, like both Oneida County an ...

, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox, as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, in 1951. Lepcio played his first MLB game, in 1952, and would play most of his professional career with the Red Sox. He was generally a utility infielder who could play second base,

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, or

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. Lepcio's best year was 1956, when he hit 15 home runs, nine of which came in an eighteen-day stretch. He is mentioned in

Jimmy Piersall James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized ba ...

's book, ''Fear Strikes Out'', as his roommate during the 1952 season, when Piersall had to be hospitalized with mental issues. Lepcio often saved Piersall from being beaten up by his own teammates. On July 13, 1961, Lepcio hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in the first inning against the

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 Fi ...

, which would turn out to be the deciding factor in the Twins' 9 to 6 victory. After Lepcio retired, following the 1961 season, he became a vice president of sales with St Johnsbury Trucking Co Inc, a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

trucking company. He also remained active in baseball and often chaired Red Sox events. He died on December 11, 2019 in Dedham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

References

External links

Ted Lepcio
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) 1929 births 2019 deaths Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Red Sox players Detroit Tigers players Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago White Sox players Minnesota Twins players Seton Hall Pirates baseball players Roanoke Ro-Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Syracuse Chiefs players Sportspeople from Utica, New York People from Oneida, New York American people of Polish descent Sportspeople from Dedham, Massachusetts {{US-baseball-infielder-stub