Vincent William Shupe (September 5, 1921 – April 5, 1962) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

who played for the 1945 Boston Braves of

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). Listed at and , he batted and threw left-handed.

Biography

Shupe's minor league career spanned 1939 to 1950; he did not play professionally for two seasons (1942–1943) during World War II. He appeared in 1153 minor league games, playing for seven different teams, including four seasons in the Pacific Coast League. Primarily a first baseman, he also made nine appearances as a pitcher early in his career, and five appearances in the outfield late in his career. Shupe is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. His first major league experience was on July 7, 1945, for the Boston Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played first base regularly for the Braves through the end of the season, taking over from Joe Mack, whose last game had been on July 4. Baseball records list Shupe as appearing in a game earlier in the season, against the Brooklyn Dodgers on June 17; however, that was a suspended game, and he only played in the completion of the game, when it was resumed on August 4. Shupe played in 78 major league games, registering a .269

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 ...

(76-for-283), 15 RBIs, and no

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. Defensively, he made eight

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

s in 703

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

for a .989 fielding percentage. Shupe was a native of

East Canton, Ohio East Canton is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,591 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the ''Canton-Massillon metropolitan area, C ...

. At one time, he dated actress

Jean Peters Elizabeth Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American film actress. She is known as a star of 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second wife of Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered f ...

. After his professional baseball career, he worked as a petroleum salesman. Shupe died at the age of 40 in Canton, Ohio.

Retrosheet

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shupe, Vince 1921 births 1962 deaths Baseball first basemen Boston Braves players Olean Oilers players Johnstown Johnnies players Hartford Laurels players Indianapolis Indians players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Portland Beavers players Oklahoma City Indians players Baseball players from Ohio People from East Canton, Ohio