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.
Joseph Edward Bockman (July 26, 1920 – September 29, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1946), Cleveland Indians (1947), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–1949). During his playing days, Bockman stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), weighing 175 pounds (79 kg); he batted and threw right-handed. His younger brother, Morley Bockman, played Minor League Baseball (MiLB) for the Riverside Rubes, in the Sunset League, among other teams.
Arthur Frederick Bues was a Major League Baseball third baseman. He was born on March 3, 1888, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He batted and threw right-handed, weighed 184 pounds (83 kg), and was 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m). Bues was considered one of the best third basemen in the country during his career. Bues was the nephew of George Stallings. Bues originally played for Kansas City of the American Association and made his Major League debut on April 17, 1913, for the Boston Braves. He had just 1 at bat in 2 games. In 1914 he played for the Chicago Cubs in 14 games. He had 45 at-bats with 10 hits. He recorded no home runs and 4 RBIs.
Art Bues died on November 7, 1954, in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
Louis Joseph Berberet (November 20, 1929 – April 6, 2004) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers between 1954 and 1960. He was born in Long Beach, California.A stocky player of 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), 200 pounds (91 kg), Berberet was a very solid defensive catcher and a decent left-handed hitter. He retired after the 1960 season having a career batting average of .230, with 31 home runs, 153 runs batted in, and a fielding percentage of .992.
Berberet died on April 6, 2004.
Alfred James Pilarcik (July 3, 1930 – September 20, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he appeared in 668 Major League games between 1956 and 1961 for the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. Pilarcik stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) tall, weighed 185 lb (84 kg) and threw and batted left-handed.
Primarily a right fielder, Pilarcik played in over 100 games for three successive seasons (1957–1959) as a member of the Orioles. In 1960, his last season in Baltimore, Pilarcik saw less service, but he was stationed in right field at Boston's Fenway Park on September 28, 1960, Ted Williams' final game as an active player. He caught Williams' long drive to right field at the bullpen wall in the fifth inning, then, three frames later, watched helplessly as Williams' 440-foot (134-metre) blast carried over the bullpen for Williams' 521st and final career home run — in the Hall of Fame hitter's last at bat in the Major Leagues.Pilarcik's career lasted one more season, split between the 1961 Athletics (in his second turn for that franchise) and the White Sox. All told, in six MLB campaigns, he compiled a career batting average of .256 with 22 home runs and 143 runs batted in. Defensively, he recorded a .986 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions.He was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo.After baseball, he went into the teaching profession and taught at Lake Central High School for 33 years, retiring in 2001.
John Lucadello (February 22, 1919 – October 30, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a second baseman, he appeared in 239 Major League games for the St. Louis Browns (1938–1941; 1946) and New York Yankees (1947). The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 160 lb (73 kg) native of Thurber, Texas, threw and batted right-handed. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was the brother of longtime MLB scout Tony Lucadello.
Johnny Lucadello's pro career lasted from 1936 to 1955, with four seasons (1942–1945) missed because of his wartime service. In six Major League seasons, he had 686 at bats, 95 runs scored, 181 hits, 36 doubles, 7 triples, and 5 home runs. He had 60 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, 93 walks, a .264 batting average, a .353 on-base percentage, a .359 slugging percentage, 246 total bases and 5 sacrifice hits.
He died in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 82.
Dain Elmer Clay (July 10, 1919 – August 28, 1994) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. Clay played collegiately at Kent State University in 1943. He played in four seasons with the Reds, from 1943 to 1946. In 1945, Clay led the National League in at-bats with 656, and was sixth in games played, with 153. In 433 games, Clay was a .258 career hitter (397-for-1540) with 3 home runs and 98 runs batted in.
Wilbur Lee "Bill" Brubaker (November 7, 1910 – April 2, 1978) was a professional American baseball player from 1932 to 1943, although he did not play the 1941 or 1942 seasons. Of his ten years of play, Brubaker played nine with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing third base. His best year was in 1936, when he hit for a .289 batting average and knocked in an impressive 102 RBIs. Brubaker's career fell apart after that, never even getting 50 RBIs again. His last year, in 1943, was with the Boston Braves.
His grandson, Dennis Rasmussen, also played in the major leagues.
The picture of another baseball player, Dave Barbee, appears on some cards and photographs attributed to Bill Brubaker. This appears to follow from a misnamed 1932 photo of Barbee taken by the baseball photographer George Burke. Tom Shieber, curator at the Baseball Hall of Fame, detected this error in 2018 based on details of Barbee's uniform.
James Ehrenfeld Brideweser (February 13, 1927 – August 25, 1989) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1951 to 1957 for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. He was 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall but weighed only 165 pounds.
Before being signed by the Yankees before the 1950 season, Bridewiser spent time in the United States Army during the World War II era and attended the University of Southern California. On August 2, 1945, he enlisted in the army.He made his big league debut on September 29, 1951 for the Yankees. He spent three years with them, playing in only 51 games but batting a solid .327 in 49 at bats.
He was purchased by the Orioles in May 1954, and he hit .265 in 73 games with them. After the season, he was traded by the Orioles with Bob Chakales and Clint Courtney to the White Sox for Don Ferrarese, Don Johnson, Matt Batts, and Fred Marsh.
He did poorly while with the White Sox. He spent 1955 and part of 1956 with them, batting only .203 in 69 at bats total. In May 1956, he was traded by the White Sox with Harry Byrd and Bob Kennedy to the Tigers for Fred Hatfield and Jim Delsing. He did not improve much with them, hitting only .218 in 156 at bats. Overall that year, he hit .216.
He played his final season in 1957 with the Orioles, who purchased him from the Tigers in February of that year. He hit .268 in his final season, belting the only home run of his career that year – a three-run shot off of Boston Red Sox pitcher Frank Sullivan. He played his final game on September 21, 1957.
Overall, he hit .252 in his career. In 329 games, he collected 156 hits in 620 at bats, scoring 79 runs and driving in 50. He doubled 22 times, tripled six times and homered once. He walked 63 times and struck out only 77 times. He had a great eye at the plate, striking out only 12.4% of the time.
His fielding percentage was .949.
After he retired from playing, he obtained teaching credentials. He taught mathematics at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California and, as coach of the varsity baseball team, had at least two championship seasons. He was also a Title IX counselor.