Robert Ford Garrison (August 29, 1915 – June 6, 2001), nicknamed "Rocky" and "Snapper", was an American professional baseball player and coach. An outfielder, the native of Greenville, South Carolina, threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). He appeared in 185 games in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1943–44) and Philadelphia Athletics (1944–46).
Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the 1956 season. He had two at-bats and scored two runs as a pinch runner.
Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 160 pounds (73 kg), Balcena batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in San Pedro, California.
Prior to playing professional baseball, Balcena served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II with the United States Navy.Balcena became the first player of Asian American and Filipino ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the Seattle Rainiers as a center fielder in the 1950s; one paper described him as a "popular miniature dynamo of almost infallible perpetual motion" after his Rainier team won the 1955 Pacific Coast League title.He also played from 1952 through 1962 in the Minor Leagues, including stints with the Leones del Caracas and the Industriales de Valencia in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
He batted .284 with 134 home run and 441 runs batted in in 1948 minor league games. In a VPBL two-season career, he posted a .306 average with five homers and 44 RBI in 87 games.
After his baseball career ended, he worked as a longshoreman in Seattle where he had played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues.Despite being the first Filipino-American to play in the major leagues, Balcena kept company with Slavs during his life. His union president told the Los Angeles Times that he was an "honorary Slav. He always r[a]n around with the San Pedro Slavs. He speaks Slav. He sings Slav." Outside of his professional career, he also played baseball with an amateur team of Yugoslav Americans.Balcena died in his hometown of San Pedro, California at the age of 64.
Glenn Richard McQuillen (April 19, 1915 – June 8, 1989), known also as "Red", was an American professional baseball player. During a 210-game, five-season career in Major League Baseball, all with the St. Louis Browns, he was a reserve outfielder, playing mainly in left field. He was listed at 6 feet (1.8 m), 198 pounds (90 kg) and batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Strasburg, Virginia, McQuillen attended what is now McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, and reported immediately to the Browns upon signing with them in 1938. In his first professional and Major League game, he hit a double as a pinch hitter off Johnny Marcum of the Boston Red Sox, collecting his first run batted in during a 12–8 loss at Sportsman's Park. McQullen batted an MLB career-high .284 that season, collecting 33 hits in 43 games with St. Louis. He then spent 1939, 1940 and most of 1941 in minor league baseball at the upper levels of the Browns' farm system. After a seven-game recall to the Browns during September 1941, McQuillen spent all of 1942 on the St. Louis roster, when he posted career highs in games (100), runs (40), hits( 96), and RBI (47), while hitting for a .283 average.
McQuillen enlisted in the United States Navy before the 1943 season, serving on the destroyer USS Bennett in the Pacific Theater of Operations for three years before rejoining the Browns during the 1946 and 1947 seasons. In 1946, he again spent a full season with the Browns, but he could not crack their starting outfield and his batting mark fell to .241.
In a five-season MLB career, McQuillen was a .274 hitter (176-for-643) with four home runs and 75 RBI in 210 games. Following his major league stint, he spent 10 years playing and managing in the minors, leaving baseball after the 1956 season.
McQuillen died in Gardenville, Maryland, at the age of 74.
Daniel Thomas Meyer (born August 3, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned 17 seasons, 12 of which were played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1974–76), the Seattle Mariners (1977–81), and the Oakland Athletics (1982–85). Meyer primarily played first base, but also played left field, third base, and right field. He batted left-handed while throwing right-handed. During his playing career, Meyer was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).
After attending the University of Arizona and Santa Ana College, Meyer was drafted by the Detroit Tigers during the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career in the minor leagues with the Bristol Tigers. Meyer made his major league debut in 1974. Over his career in the majors, Meyer compiled a .253 batting average with 411 runs scored, 944 hits, 153 doubles, 31 triples, 86 home runs, and 459 runs batted in (RBIs) in 1,118 games played.
Leonard James Matuszek (born September 27, 1954), is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1981 to 1987. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Matuszek is an alumnus of the University of Toledo, where he played both varsity baseball and basketball, for all four of his college years. He was inducted into the Varsity “T” Athletic Hall-Of-Fame, in 1986.
Robert Charles Nieman (January 26, 1927 – March 10, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and scout. An outfielder, he spent all or parts of a dozen Major League Baseball seasons with the St. Louis Browns (1951–52), Detroit Tigers (1953–54), Chicago White Sox (1955–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59), St. Louis Cardinals (1960–61), Cleveland Indians (1961–62) and San Francisco Giants (1962). He also played one season in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons (1963). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
James Charles Wasdell (May 15, 1914 – August 6, 1983) was an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or portions of 11 seasons between 1937 and 1947 for the Washington Senators, Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians. The Cleveland native threw and batted left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Wasdell helped the Dodgers win the 1941 National League pennant. Appearing in 94 games, including 46 as a starting outfielder, Wasdell batted .298 in 287 plate appearances, collecting 79 hits. In the World Series, he appeared in three games, with five at bats; his only hit was a double off Atley Donald of the New York Yankees in the fourth inning of Game 5, the Series' final contest. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one.
In 11 MLB seasons, Wasdell played in 888 games and had 2,866 at bats, 339 runs, 782 hits, 109 doubles, 34 triples, 29 home runs, 341 runs batted in, 29 stolen bases, 243 walks, .273 batting average, .332 on-base percentage, .365 slugging percentage, 1,046 total bases and 39 sacrifice hits. Defensively, he recorded a .981 fielding percentage playing primarily at first base and at all three outfield positions. Including minor league service, Wasdell played for 15 seasons (1935–1950) in Organized Baseball.
He died in New Port Richey, Florida at the age of 69.
Joseph Franklin Vosmik (April 4, 1910 – January 27, 1962) was an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians (1930–36), St. Louis Browns (1937), Boston Red Sox (1938–39), Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–41) and Washington Senators (1944). He helped the Dodgers win the 1941 National League Pennant.
He was voted in the 1935 American League All-Star Team as a right fielder. He finished 3rd in voting for the 1935 AL MVP Award for leading the league in hits (216), doubles (47) and triples (20). He also played in 152 games and had 620 at-bats, 93 runs, 10 home runs, 110 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, 59 walks, a .348 batting average, a .408 on-base percentage, a .537 slugging percentage, 333 total bases, and 5 sacrifice hits. He was traded from the Browns to the Red Sox for Bobo Newsom, Red Kress and Buster Mills on December 3, 1937. He finished 21st in voting for the 1938 AL MVP Award for leading the league in hits (201), playing in 146 games, and having 621 at-bats, 121 runs, 37 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, 86 RBIs, 59 walks, a .324 batting average, a .384 on-base percentage, a .446 slugging percentage, 277 total bases, and 7 sacrifice hits.
In 13 seasons, he played in 1,414 games and had 5,472 at-bats, 818 runs, 1,682 hits, 335 doubles, 92 triples, 65 home runs, 874 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, 514 walks, a .307 batting average, a .369 on-base percentage, a .438 slugging percentage, 2,396 total bases, and 78 sacrifice hits. His career fielding percentage was .979 playing at all three outfield positions.From 1947 to 1951, he was a manager in the minor league system of the Indians.
He died in his hometown at the age of 51.
Walter Nesbitt "Neb" Stewart (May 21, 1918 – June 8, 1990) was a Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1940.