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.
Gilbert Henry Blanco (born December 15, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Blanco was signed by the New York Yankees in 1964. He pitched for the Yankees in 1965 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. In 28 Major League games, nine as a starting pitcher, had a career record of 3–5, an ERA of 4.45, with 35 strikeouts and 48 bases on balls in 58⅔ innings pitched.
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.
Albert Julius Aber (July 31, 1927 – May 20, 1993) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in 168 games in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians (1950, 1953), Detroit Tigers (1953–1957) and Kansas City Athletics (1957). Born in Cleveland, he threw and batted left-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Aber graduated from West Technical High School and was signed as by the Indians at age 19 in 1946. He made his major league debut on September 15, 1950, pitching a complete-game victory, allowing two runs. He did not play another game in the big leagues until 1953, spending the 1951 and 1952 seasons performing military service during the Korean War. He appeared in six games for the Indians in 1953, winning one and losing one, before being traded on June 15 to the Tigers with Steve Gromek, Ray Boone and Dick Weik for Art Houtteman, Owen Friend, Bill Wight, and Joe Ginsberg. Aber spent the next five years with the Tigers, where he compiled a 22–24 record. His best statistical season was 1955, in which Aber appeared in 39 games and won six, lost three, and had an earned run average of 3.38. He was then waived by the Tigers, and was picked up by the Kansas City Athletics, for whom he pitched in three games, his final appearance coming on September 11, 1957.In an interview in SPORT magazine in June 1956, Tigers catcher Frank House noted that Aber threw a "heavy" ball: "I could catch Billy (Hoeft) with a fielder's glove. Although he's fast, he throws a 'light' ball that makes it easy on the catcher. Al Aber, another leftie on our staff, is tough to catch because he throws a 'heavy' ball."
Aber became a sales representative after retiring. He died in 1993 at age 65 in Garfield Heights, Ohio.
Richard Carl Tomanek (January 6, 1931 – August 11, 2023) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who played for five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1953 to 1954 and 1957 to 1958 and the Kansas City Athletics from 1958 to 1959. Nicknamed "Bones", he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). In the early 1950s, he served in the United States Marine Corps.
Norman Michael Hershberger (October 9, 1939 – July 1, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1961–1964, 1971), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1965–1969) and Milwaukee Brewers (1970) during an 11-season Major League Baseball career. Born in Massillon, Ohio, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
He signed with the White Sox in 1959 after graduating from Massillon High School and attending the University of Cincinnati. He held down a starting corner outfielder job in the majors for seven straight years (1962–1968), and in 1966 led the American League in sacrifice flies (7) during his tenure with the Athletics.
In his 11 MLB seasons, Hershberger played in 1,150 games and had 3,572 at bats, 398 runs, 900 hits, 150 doubles, 22 triples, 26 home runs, 344 runs batted in, 74 stolen bases, 319 walks, .252 batting average, .316 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage, 1,172 total bases, 33 sacrifice hits, 28 sacrifice flies and 19 intentional walks.
He died in Massillon on July 1, 2012, following a brief illness.
William Angelo Consolo ( kon-SOH-loh; August 18, 1934 – March 27, 2008) was an American professional baseball shortstop and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five different teams between 1953 and 1962, most notably the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins.
Primarily used in a reserve role, Consolo enjoyed his best season with the 1957 Red Sox, batting .270 in 68 games. He later served as the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers for 15 seasons, from 1979 to 1992 and again in 1995 under manager Sparky Anderson, including for the Tigers' 1984 World Series champions. Listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 180 lb., Consolo batted and threw right-handed.
Robert Bernard Meyer (born August 4, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1960. Meyer pitched for the Yankees (1964), Los Angeles Angels (1964), Kansas City Athletics (1964), Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970). His first major league strikeout victim was future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. During a three-year baseball career, Meyer compiled two wins, 92 strikeouts, and a 4.38 earned run average.On September 12, 1964, while starting for the Athletics on the road at Memorial Stadium, he and Baltimore Orioles left-hander Frank Bertaina each pitched a complete game one-hitter, but the A's lost 1–0 as Jackie Brandt hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to score pinch-runner Bob Saverine from third.Other career highlights include a six scoreless inning win against the Kansas City Athletics on June 26, 1964, a six-hit, complete game win (6–1) against the Baltimore Orioles on September 7, 1964, and pitching the first nine innings and giving up one unearned run in a 13-inning victory over the New York Yankees on September 1, 1969.