Donald George Leppert (October 19, 1931 – April 13, 2023) was an American professional baseball player and coach.
A catcher, Leppert appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert threw and batted right-handed; he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). He was born in Indianapolis and began his 12-year active career in 1955 in the Milwaukee Braves' organization.
Forrest Vandergrift Jacobs (November 4, 1925 – February 18, 2011) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 through 1956 for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1954–56), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1956). Listed at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), 155 lb, he batted and threw right-handed. His teammates affectionately called him Spook, a moniker that he used throughout his life.
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.
Saturnino Escalera Cuadrado (December 1, 1929 – July 3, 2021) was a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and scout whose playing career extended for 14 seasons (1949–1962). The outfielder and first baseman appeared for one full season, 1954, in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs and was the first player of African descent to appear in an MLB game for the Cincinnati franchise. He threw and batted left-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg).
George Elwell Spencer (July 7, 1926 – September 10, 2014) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. A right-hander, he was primarily a relief pitcher for the New York Giants and the Detroit Tigers. Spencer stood 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg).
A graduate of Bexley High School and Ohio State University, where he played quarterback on the OSU varsity football team, Spencer was a key member of the 1951 Giants' pitching staff, leading the club in saves and winning ten of 14 decisions, including a key August start over the front-running Brooklyn Dodgers. The Giants would famously overcome a 131⁄2-game, mid-August deficit to tie Brooklyn on the season's final day, then defeated the Dodgers for the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's historic Game 3 home run.
Robert Edward Kelly (born October 4, 1927) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1951 to 1953, the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1953 and 1958, and the Cleveland Indians in 1958.
Kelly led East Cleveland Shaw High School to a state title in 1944, compiling a 7–2 record in 13 games with 75 strikeouts. He attended Purdue University, where he played college baseball for the Boilermakers from 1946 to 1947. Kelly also pitched collegiately for Western Reserve (now Case Western Reserve University) from 1948 to 1949. As of 2022, Kelly is the last surviving Major Leaguer to have been managed by Rogers Hornsby and Frankie Frisch.
Richard Lloyd Hoover (December 11, 1925 – April 12, 1981) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Braves during the 1952 season. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 170 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.
Calvin Grey Hogue (October 24, 1927 – August 5, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 25 Major League Baseball games between 1952 and 1954 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The native of Dayton, Ohio, stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Hogue spent his rookie season, and 19 games of his MLB career, on one of the worst teams in history: the 1952 Pirates, who won only 42 of 154 games and finished 541⁄2 games out of first place in the National League. Recalled by Pittsburgh after compiling a 10–3 record with the Class A Charleston Rebels of the Sally League, Hogue threw a complete game, four-hit 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in his second appearance in the Major Leagues on July 17. But he was hit hard in his next start, also against the Phillies, allowing ten earned runs in three innings pitched and taking the loss in 14–4 Phillie win. He started ten more games for the Pirates, but failed to win another game, finishing 1–8 (4.84), although he did throw two more complete games.Hogue spent most of 1953 in the Double-A Texas League, and pitched in three games for the Pirates. He gained his second Major League win on September 27, throwing another complete game and beating the New York Giants, 6–4. Then Hogue made the 1954 Pirates coming out of spring training. He started two April games, but failed to last past four complete innings in each one. He retired from professional baseball after three games with the 1957 Columbus Jets of the Triple-A International League.
During his Major League career, Hogue issued 96 bases on balls in 1132⁄3 innings and allowed 109 hits, with 54 strikeouts.
Thomas Arden Butters (April 8, 1938 – March 31, 2016) was an American professional baseball player who spent parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then had a lengthy career as a college sports administrator at Duke University. He is best remembered for his time at Duke and for being a key figure in the financial success of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Albert Wesley Lakeman (December 31, 1918 – May 25, 1976), nicknamed "Moose", was a professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Braves and Detroit Tigers. Lakeman was listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg). He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The light-hitting Lakeman was a fine defensive catcher as he took responsibility for getting the most out of his pitchers. For most of his nine-year career in the Majors, he was an efficient, reliable backup playing behind Ray Mueller (Reds) and Andy Seminick (Phillies). His most productive season came in 1945 with Cincinnati, when he posted career-highs in games played (76, including 72 games as starting backstop as the Reds' most-used catcher), batting average (.256), home runs (eight), RBI (31) and runs (22).
In a nine-season career, Lakeman was a .203 hitter with 131 hits, 15 home runs and 66 RBI in 239 games. After his playing career ended, he managed in the Tigers' farm system (1956–62; 1965–66; 1970) and served two terms as the bullpen coach at the Major League level for the Boston Red Sox (1963–64; 1967–69), and was a member of the 1967 American League champions.
Lakeman died in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at age 57.