Cleveland Indians players

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.

Rocky_Bridges

Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 28, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League.

Eddie_Bockman

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.

Soup_Campbell

Clarence Campbell, better known as Soup Campbell (after Campbell's Soup) (March 7, 1915 – February 16, 2000) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1940 through 1941 for the Cleveland Indians. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 188 lb., Campbell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Sparta, Virginia. In a two-season career, Campbell was a .246 hitter (96-for-432) with three home runs and 37 runs batted in in 139 games, including 10 doubles, four triples, one stolen base, and a .315 on-base percentage.
Campbell began his professional career with the Tarboro Serpents of the Coastal Plain League, playing for them in 1937 and 1938. He then spent the 1939 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, batting .321 in 155 games. He was promoted to the Indians major league roster in 1940 and made his debut on April 21. In 25 games, he had a .226 batting average, serving as a backup outfielder. In 1941, Campbell saw more playing time, and had a .250 batting average in 104 games.He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, missing the 1942-1945 seasons. He returned to baseball action with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1946 after failing to make the Indians roster out of spring training; he had requested the demotion in order to be an everyday player. He compiled a .298 average and 23 homers in 579 minor league games in a span of five years (1937–39, 1946–47). He later managed for the 1952 Lexington team of the North Carolina State League. Campbell died in Sparta at the age of 84.

Johnny_Humphries

John William Humphries (June 23, 1915 – June 24, 1965) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1946. Born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, he played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Humphries played college baseball at North Carolina. When Humphries made his Major League debut with the Indians in 1938, he was thought to have the best fastball in the American League. He made 45 pitching appearances as a rookie in 1938 to lead the American League, beating out Bobo Newsom of the St. Louis Browns by one. Between July 13 and July 26, 1942, Humphries pitched ten or more innings in four consecutive starts. As of 2020, no other pitcher had ever pitched more than nine innings in more than three consecutive appearances.He died in 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Clarence_Maddern

Clarence James Maddern (September 26, 1921 – August 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball outfielder who appeared in 104 Major League games for the Chicago Cubs in 1946, 1948 and 1949, and the Cleveland Indians in 1951. His minor league career extended from 1940 through 1957. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Maddern attended the University of Arizona on a baseball scholarship and signed a contract with the Cubs' minor league affiliate Bisbee Bees, in the Arizona–Texas League. His career was interrupted by service from 1943 to 1945 in the United States Army during World War II, when he served in the 76th Infantry Division. Maddern served in France and participated in the Battle of the Bulge.In 1946 Maddern was leading the Texas League in hitting with the Tulsa Oilers before being called up by the parent Cubs. He also was a stalwart in the postwar Pacific Coast League as a star for the Los Angeles Angels and a member of four other PCL clubs. The biggest moment in his career came the night of September 29, 1947, before a sellout crowd in Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. The Angels and the San Francisco Seals had finished in a dead heat for the PCL pennant and met in a one-game playoff. The game was a scoreless tie until Maddern broke it up with a grand slam home run in the eighth inning to give the Angels a 5–0 win over the Seals.Maddern left baseball in 1957, returned to Bisbee and became an insurance agent. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Bisbee, Arizona

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.

Al_Aber

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.

Dick_Tomanek

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.

Jake_Striker

Wilbur Scott "Jake" Striker (October 23, 1933 – March 7, 2013) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in 1959 and 1960 with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
Originally signed by the Indians in 1952, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 200 lb (91 kg) Striker enjoyed a promising start to his career. In his MLB debut on September 25, 1959, against the Kansas City Athletics at the age of 25, Striker tossed 6⅔ innings of solid baseball, allowing only two earned runs for a 2.70 earned run average and the win. He went 0 for 1 with a walk at the plate in what would be the only game in which he would appear in 1959.
The only player from Heidelberg College to reach the major leagues, Striker was traded on December 6, 1959 with Dick Brown, Don Ferrarese and Minnie Miñoso to the White Sox for Johnny Romano, Bubba Phillips and Norm Cash. He only appeared in two games with the White Sox, both relief appearances. In 3+ innings of work, he posted a 4.91 ERA, striking out one and walking one. His major league career ended on April 24, 1960. Overall, he went 1 and 0 with a 3.48 ERA in 3 games in his career. He walked five, struck out six and gave up one home run (to Casey Wise) in about 10 innings of work. Overall, he wore three uniform numbers in his short two-year career. He wore 23 with the Indians, and 20 and 31 with the White Sox.