William Penn Life, 2018 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2018-04-01 / 4. szám
Tibor's Take nals that won the 1935 World Series. He played a rough style of baseball and is one of the only players to date to be removed during a game for his own protection. Joe was always offering a quotable comment to the press and was more often than not the guy reporters would first interview following a game. Following his retirement from baseball, Medwick would play 36 holes of golf each day until he passed away in 1975 at age 63. • The story of Julius "Moose" Solters is a tragic tale. Many observers believed there were two Hungarian American baseball superstars at the time, with Medwick in the National League and Solters in the Junior Circuit. Solters was born in Pittsburgh in 1906. His family name was originally Soltész, but like many immigrants' names, it was Anglicized upon immigration to the United States. Julius and his three other Americanborn brothers all excelled in baseball and played semi-pro with varying levels of success. In addition to "Moose/ Solters was known as "Tarzan," "Jake" and "Lemons." As a youngster he attended the Fifth Avenue School and got his first taste of organized baseball at the Lewis Playground. He left school at an early age to work at several physically demanding jobs, such as a mule driver in a coal mine, steelworker and ditch digger. His love for playing baseball proved to be his escape from the mundane and enabled him to see many of the far reaches of America. After several seasons in the minor leagues, his hard work and dedication paid off one year while playing for a Class AA team in Baltimore, when he led the league in batting average and RBIs and fell just short of winning the home run title. Scouts for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees (as well as other teams) noticed Solters' batting prowess and engaged in a bidding war to buy his contract from Baltimore. Still reeling from losing Babe Ruth several years prior to the Yankees, the Red Sox owners paid the substantial sum of $50,000 to obtain the Solters' contract. So, in 1934 he began his major league career in Beantown. Early in his first season in Boston, Solters quickly lived up to his potential and was among the league leaders in batting average, RBIs, doubles and homers. But, almost halfway into the season, Moose suffered a wrist injury when he was hit by an errant pitch from Cleveland Indians pitcher Mel Harder. Solters spent over a month on the disabled list, and though he came back, his production numbers fell. Incidentally, this occurred the same year that Joe Medwick led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series victory and became the leagues MVP by winning the Triple Crown. Solters continued to put up impressive numbers, but his value declined, and he ended up being traded several times in the following years. Some insiders said that his wrist speed had slowed, and he even had to change his batting stance in later years. In 1940, his career ended when he suffered an accident on the field which resulted in a fractured skull, optic nerve damage and, eventually, blindness. The mishap occurred during pregame practice at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Solters blamed himself for the accident, saying he was not paying attention to what was transpiring during warm ups. He tried to make a comeback a few years later, but to no avail as he gradually lost his vision. After his retirement from baseball, his wife Amy and their five children joined him in operating a tavern located in Pittsburgh. Sadly, he received little support from the baseball owners or players association as they said he played before the MLB disability benefit rules took effect. Julius Solters taught himself to read Braille and was a spokesperson for several causes pertaining to blindness. He passed away in September 1975. • John "Eddie" Yuhas holds a special spot in my heart as he competed against my Grandfather Cseh in a Youngstown/Warren, Ohio baseball league when both were teenagers in the 1930s. Yuhas was born in 1924 and had a stellar pitching record for various amateur teams in the area, but like so many young men, he chose to sign up and serve in the army during World War II. Yuhas resumed his baseball career in 1947 and languished in the minor leagues until he was called up as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in April 1952 at the age of 27. He was a one-year wonder, compiling a 12-2 record with a 2.87 ERA. He had the highest winning percentage in the National League that season. He pitched briefly in 1953, but spent almost the entire season on the disabled list with an arm injury. He retired at the end of his second season. Yuhas was married to Norma Denson. He resided in North Carolina and passed away in 1986. Éljen a Magyar, Tibor II (* “Ballgame" in Hungarian, roughly.) Tibor Check, Jr. is a member of Branch 28 and an attorney working in Washington, D.C. WILLIAM PENN LIFE 0 April 2018 0 7
