1920s births stubs

Dick_Rozek

Richard Louis Rozek (March 27, 1927 – September 27, 2001) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1950 to 1954 for the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who attended Immaculate Conception High School in that city, he signed with the Indians prior to the 1947 season. In the minor leagues, Rozek struggled with his command, leading the Class A Eastern League in bases on balls (with 180 in 198 innings pitched) in 1948, and walking 146 men in 163 innings the following year in the Double-A Texas League (he led the league in strikeouts, with 145). Rozek then spent three full seasons in the Major Leagues, although he worked in only 29 games (four as a starting pitcher) over that span.
On September 28, 1952, he recorded his only Major League decision, a victory over the Detroit Tigers. In his only starting assignment of the year, Rozek went six innings, allowing one run, five hits, all singles, and two bases on balls. He left for a pinch hitter with his Indians ahead, 3–1, in a game they ultimately won, 8–2. It was also Rozek's last game in a Cleveland uniform. Not quite three months later, on December 19, 1952, he was traded to the Athletics with a minor leaguer for pitcher Bob Hooper. Apart from in four appearances as a relief pitcher for the A's over the next two seasons, he spent the rest of his career in the minors, leaving the game after the 1955 season.
In 33 total big-league games, and 65+1⁄3 innings pitched, Rozek allowed 65 hits and 55 bases on balls, with 26 strikeouts.

Buzz_Dozier

William Joseph Dozier III (August 31, 1928 – November 24, 2005), known as "Buzz", was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in four Major League Baseball games for the 1947 and 1949 Washington Senators. A native and lifelong resident of Waco, Texas, he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Dozier starred in football and baseball at Waco High School and turned down a joint scholarship in those sports from Texas Christian University to sign a professional baseball contract with Washington in August 1947. He jumped immediately to the American League the following month and made his MLB debut on September 12 at Griffith Stadium against the St. Louis Browns. Coming into the contest in the eighth inning with Washington trailing 9–3, Dozier proceeded to strike out the first man to bat against him, veteran infielder and future soap opera star Johnny Berardino. In two scoreless frames, he faced the minimum of six opposing batters and allowed only one hit, a single to Les Moss, who was erased on a caught stealing. Two days later, he threw two more shutout innings of relief, this time against the Detroit Tigers, permitting only one hit and one base on balls.However, two years later, Dozier was ineffective in his third major-league game, a one-sided loss to the eventual 1949 World Series champion New York Yankees on September 11. He entered the game at Yankee Stadium with two out in the fourth and the Bombers already ahead, 11–0. Dozier threw the final 51⁄3 innings, allowing an inherited runner to score, then eight earned runs of his own, as New York triumphed, 20–5. In his final big-league appearance nine days later, he threw one scoreless inning on September 20, 1949 against St. Louis in another lopsided Senator defeat.
All told, in his four MLB games, all in relief, Dozier allowed 14 hits and seven bases on balls in 11 innings pitched. he struck out three. All eight earned runs charged against him came in his "mop up" performance against the Yankees on September 11, 1949. He did not gain a decision and compiled a career earned run average of 6.55. Doozer pitched in the minor leagues through 1951 before leaving pro baseball.
He attended Baylor University in his hometown, where he raised his family and became a longtime Waco businessman, spending 37 years as a manufacturer's representative in the apparel industry. He died, aged 77, on November 24, 1955.

Ed_Hanyzewski

Edward Michael Hanyzewski (September 18, 1920 – October 8, 1991) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who worked in 58 games (25 as a starting pitcher) in the Major Leagues between 1942 and 1946 for the Chicago Cubs. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg) and attended the University of Notre Dame.Hanyzewski's best Major League season came in 1943, when he appeared in 33 games (16 as a starter), won eight of 15 decisions, and fashioned a 2.56 earned run average in 130 innings pitched with three complete games.
Hanyzewski pitched in only two games (one in April and one in September) for the 1945 Cubs, who won the National League pennant, and did not appear in the 1945 World Series.During his MLB career, Hanyzewski allowed 213 hits and 79 bases on balls in 218 innings pitched, with 81 strikeouts. He did not record a save.

Bill_Bonness

William John Bonness (December 15, 1923 – December 3, 1977), nicknamed "Lefty", was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He played for the Cleveland Indians from September 26, 1944, to September 29, 1944.

George_Spencer_(baseball)

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.

Duke_Simpson

Thomas Leo "Duke" Simpson (September 15, 1927 – February 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Simpson had a seven-year (1948–1954) career, which included a full, 1953 season in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs. He stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).

Bob_Kelly_(baseball)

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.

Mel_Held

Melvin Nicholas Held (born April 12, 1929) is an American former professional baseball player. He appeared in four Major League Baseball games as a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles at the outset of the 1956 season, and had a 13-year career in minor league baseball. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg).
Held, nicknamed "Country", was a nine-year minor league veteran when he pitched for the Orioles in 1956, having signed with the team when it was the St. Louis Browns in 1947. His performance during the 1955 season for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League — he posted a 24–7 won-lost record and a 2.87 earned run average — earned him a call-up to Baltimore the following year.
In his first two MLB games, on April 27–28, Held pitched a total of three innings of scoreless relief against the Washington Senators. In his next two appearances, however, in May against the first-division Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, Held surrendered four earned runs and five hits in four innings. Altogether, Held gave up seven hits in seven innings pitched in MLB, with three walks and four strikeouts. Held was sent back to the minor leagues for good at the May cutdown. His career continued through 1959, and he won 131 minor-league games.

Ralph_Brickner

Ralph Harold Brickner (May 2, 1925 – May 9, 1994) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox in the 1952 season. Nicknamed "Brick", he batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet, 31⁄2 inches (1.92 m) tall and weighed 215 pounds (98 kg). He was born in Cincinnati, and attended Indiana University.
Brickner was a member of the IU Hoosiers baseball team in 1946–47. Signed originally by the Philadelphia Phillies' organization, he was selected by the Red Sox from the independent Portsmouth Cubs of the Piedmont League in the 1950 minor league draft, and reached the Major Leagues on May 2, 1952. He had a successful rookie season with the Red Sox, appearing in 14 games, 13 in relief, and posting a 3–1 win–loss record with one save and an earned run average of only 2.18 with nine strikeouts and 32 hits allowed and 11 bases on balls in 33 innings pitched. But a shoulder injury diagnosed as bursitis curtailed his pitching career. He played his final MLB game on September 17, 1952, and retired after spending 1953 in minor league baseball.
Ralph Brickner died in Bridgetown, Ohio, at the age of 69.