Welcome to the fourth installment of my series featuring players from the 1955 Bowman set that would have turned 100 this year. Players featured thus far:
- Red Schoendienst - February 2
- Jim Hughes - March 21
- Solly Hemus - April 17
Today's featured player is Bob Kuzava (card #215), who I'm spotlighting on what would have been his 100th birthday.
My actual 1955 Bowman card of Bob Kuzava:
Date of Birth:
May 28, 1923
First Year in Organized Baseball:
1941 with the Mansfield (OH) Braves, a Class D team for the Cleveland Indians organization.
Link to a Really Old Baseball Guy:
Bob Kuzava was managed by Jack Knight while playing for the Charleston (WV) Senators (Class C affiliate of the Cleveland Indians). Knight began his playing career in 1917 and was born in 1895.
Link to a Much Younger Guy:
Kuzava played with Joe Hoerner on the 1960 Charleston (SC) White Sox (A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox). Kuzava also served as last of three managers of the team that year. Joe Hoerner retired after the 1977 season.
 |
| 1977 Topps Joe Hoerner |
Interesting Facts:
- Served in the Army during World War II. Rose to the rank of Sergeant, and later became known by the nickname of Sarge in the baseball world.
- Earned saves for the Yankees in the final game of both the 1951 and 1952 World Series.
- Died May 15, 2017, at the age of 93.
Kuzava sure looks like a Sarge. Nice shot of the Bronx County Courthouse too.
ReplyDeleteI like this series... and the links to the older and younger players. I started exploring Kuzava too and discovered he played with Bob Gibson (who was 22 at the time) in Rochester back in 1958. They were managed by Cot Deal who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in January this year.
ReplyDeleteI need to do a better job reading '55 Bowman backs. Some of them are pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you're linking these guys to older and younger players in this series.
ReplyDelete