Joe Medwick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Personal Info | |
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| Birth | November 24, 1911, Carteret, New Jersey |
| Death: | March 21, 1975, St. Petersburg, FL |
| Professional Career | |
| Debut | September 2, 1932, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field |
| Team(s) | As Player
St. Louis Cardinals (1932 - 1940) |
| HOF induction: | 1968 |
| Career Highlights | |
*10 time National League All-Star
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Joseph Michael Medwick (November 24, 1911 – March 21, 1975), nicknamed "Ducky", was an American player in Major League Baseball. A highly competitive left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-43, '46), New York Giants (1943-45), and Boston Braves (1945). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1968, receiving 84.81% of the votes.
Medwick was born to Hungarian immigrant parents and grew up in Carteret, New Jersey, he made his debut with the Cardinals in 1932. Fans nicknamed him "Ducky" and "Ducky Wucky" because of his waddle, but his build led to the nickname of "Muscles," which meant that none of his teammates dared to use the name "Ducky" to his face. His hard-charging style of play got him pulled out of the seventh game of the 1934 World Series by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, when Detroit Tigers fans started pelting him with garbage after he slid hard into third on a triple.
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| Joe Medwick is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame |
A 10-time All-Star, he played for 17 years, finishing with a lifetime .324 batting average. He won the National League Triple Crown and the NL Most Valuable Player in 1937. Medwick remains the last National League player to win a triple crown. Medwick holds the Major League record for consecutive seasons with 40 or more doubles, with 7, set between the 1933 and 1939 seasons.
Medwick helped lead the Dodgers to a pennant in 1941, but had lost much of his dominance after being nearly killed by a beanball thrown at him by a former Cardinal teammate 6 days after his 1940 trade. He eventually returned to finish his career with the Cardinals in 1947 and 1948.
During a USO tour by a number of players in 1944, Medwick was among several individuals given an audience by Pope Pius XII. Upon being asked by the Pope what his vocation was, Medwick replied, "Your Holiness, I'm Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."
Medwick died of a heart attack in St. Petersburg, Florida at age 63.
Medwick was one of three players born in New Jersey to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and one of five to have attended school in the State -- in each case, the only one from the central part of the State. At Number 79, he was the highest-ranking New Jersey native to have made The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players. That same year, he was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
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| Preceded by Wally Berger |
National League RBI Champion 1936-1938 |
Succeeded by Frank McCormick |
| Preceded by Carl Hubbell |
National League Most Valuable Player 1937 |
Succeeded by Ernie Lombardi |
| Preceded by Chuck Klein |
National League Triple Crown 1937 |
Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by Paul Waner |
National League Batting Champion 1937 |
Succeeded by Ernie Lombardi |
| Preceded by Mel Ott |
National League Home Run Champion 1937 (with Mel Ott) |
Succeeded by Mel Ott |
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league left fielders | St. Louis Cardinals players | Boston Braves players | Brooklyn Dodgers players | New York Giants baseball players | National League All-Stars | Major league players from New Jersey | Baseball players who have hit for the cycle | Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey | Hungarian-Americans | 1911 births | 1975 deaths | National League batting champions | National League home run champions | National League RBI champions
