Did you know? Dodgers purchased him, along with his Reading Chicks teammates, the rickety team bus and tattered old team uniforms for $5,000 on December 9, 1940 ... served in the the US Army during WWII, missing the entire 1943 through '45 seasons ... nicknamed the "Reading Rifle" as an homage to his hometown and strong throwing arm ... paced the NL in batting with a .344 average in 1953, despite missing the final weeks of the season after suffering a broken bone in his hand during a brawl with the Giants ... won World Series titles with the Dodgers in Brooklyn (1955) and Los Angeles (1959) ... contrary to league rules, on May 17, 1960, he was released, while on the injured list, without being paid the remainder owed under his contract ... Dodgers eventually paid amount due, but he would later claim he was blackballed by major league owners and denied an opportunity to work as a big league scout or coach.
Post-game: Owned and operated a grocery store and delicatessen in the early-to-mid 1960s, worked in construction, and later as a security guard ... was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodger HOF in 1984 ... died of natural causes on January 21, 1989 at age 66.
Sources: Baseball Reference; SABR Bio; Retrosheet; Allentown Morning Call, 12/10/1940; Harrisburg Evening News, 12/6/1940; Hazleton Standard-Speaker, 4/15/1964; Palm Beach Post, 6/9/1984; Philadelphia Daily News, 1/23/1989.
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