Thomas George Poholsky (August 26, 1929 – January 6, 2001) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player, and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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 1950 to 1957. Born 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 ...

, Poholsky appeared in 159

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, 104 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, for the

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 ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. A

right-hander In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, he stood tall and weighed . He never had a winning season in the Majors, but had a stellar minor league baseball career, posting 16–3 and 18–6 seasons in the Cardinals'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

and compiling an overall minor league record of 80–54 (.597). As a minor leaguer with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, he won the

International League Most Valuable Player Award The International League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor Le ...

in 1950.

Pro career

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 ...

, many of the minor leagues in America shut down, and the major leagues itself was full of career minor league players and cast offs, many of whom were for one reason or another 4F. The minor leagues that did stay in operation had to find players anyway they could. Because of this, Tom Poholsky made his professional debut for the Durham Bulls of the class C Carolina League at the age of 15. Though the team, led by career minor league player Pat Patterson, finished with a 59–77 record, Poholsky fashioned a respectable 5–3 record while appearing in 17 games, finishing fourth on the team in wins. The next season, Poholsky spilt time between Durham and the Milford Red Sox of the East Shore League. Both Durham and Milford were part of the minor league chain of 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 eight ...

. At the age of seventeen, Poholsky was released by the Red Sox. The year was 1947 and once again, the minor leagues were becoming full of players returning home from the war. Poholsky signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, who assigned him to Columbus of the South Atlantic League, which at times was called the Sally League. Over the course of the next two seasons, Poholsky went 37-11 combined and quickly a promotion to the top club in St Louis' chain, the

. Over the course of the 1949 and 1950 seasons, Poholsky emerged as the as of the staff, at one time during this tenure, he pitched in one of the longest games in baseball history. On August 13, 1950, Poholsky locked into a duel with Jersey City pitcher

Andy Tomasic Andrew John Tomasic, Sr. (December 10, 1917 – November 27, 2008) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) player. He was born in Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania, a village located within the boundaries of modern-day Wh ...

that lasted 22 innings, with Pholosky pitching 20 scoreless innings. Poholsky earned the win when Rochester's Don Richmond hit a Tomasic pitch that scored Dick Cole. This helped earn Poholsky a call-up to the major leagues. The same success that Poholsky found in the minor leagues he could not replicate on the major league level, as his career was marred by double-digit losing seasons. After one final season in the minor leagues with the

Houston Buffs Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

of the American Association, Poholsky retired from baseball at the age of 29, but on the heels of a fourteen-year pro career. In 1990, Poholsky was inducted into the Rochester Red Wings hall of fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poholsky, Tom 1929 births 2001 deaths Baseball players from Detroit Chicago Cubs players Columbus Cardinals players Durham Bulls players Houston Buffaloes players Houston Buffs players International League MVP award winners Major League Baseball pitchers Milford Red Sox players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players