Andy Pafko
Encyclopedia
Andrew Pafko (born February 25, 1921) is a former center fielder
in Major League Baseball
. From 1943
through 1959
, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs
(1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers
(1951–52) and Milwaukee Braves
(1953–59). He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Boyceville, Wisconsin
and, as he stated on a Cubs broadcast in 2008, he lives in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
In a 17-season career, Pafko was a .285 hitter
with 213 home run
s and 976 RBI
in 1852 games
.
Nicknamed "Handy Andy", Pafko was a popular player well known for good hitting and fielding, and contributed to championship-caliber teams in three different cities. A five-time All-Star
, he played with the Chicago Cubs during their most recent World Series
appearance, in 1945
. After Cubs' third baseman Stan Hack
retired the following year, Pafko replaced him on the hot corner long enough to be named an All-Star there, making him one of the few people to achieve All-Star status in both infield and outfield. He was traded to Brooklyn in the middle of the '51 season and, as the Dodgers' left fielder, had the best view of Bobby Thomson
's famous home run later that year. Pafko returned home when he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves before the start of the 1953 season, becoming the only Wisconsin native on the Braves roster when they arrived in Milwaukee and participating in their strong contending teams there, including the 1957 World Series
champions. A devout Slovak Lutheran, he was an instant favorite with Milwaukee's large Eastern European community.
After his playing days, Pafko managed in the minor leagues including a two year stint as the skipper for the Kinston Eagles in the Carolina League
. He eventually settled in the Chicago
area, and always provided good copy for the press, especially when the subject of the Cubs would come up. When they won their division in 1984, Pafko mused, "I never dreamed it would take them 39 years to win again. I thought they would have won by accident before then!" Pafko was named to the Cubs All-Century team at the turn of the 21st century.
The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
(2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine
. Pafko is prominent in many of these stories. He is also the title character in Pafko at the Wall
and The Perfect Pafko. He also plays a role in Roger Kahn 's American classic, "The Boys of Summer."
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. From 1943
1943 in sports
1943 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:* Chicago Bears win 41-26 over Washington Redskins in the NFL championship game in Chicago...
through 1959
1959 in sports
1959 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* NFL Championship – Baltimore Colts won 31-16 over the New York Giants* August 14 - The American Football League is founded...
, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
(1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
(1951–52) and Milwaukee Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
(1953–59). He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Boyceville, Wisconsin
Boyceville, Wisconsin
Boyceville is a village in Dunn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,043 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Boyceville is located at ....
and, as he stated on a Cubs broadcast in 2008, he lives in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
In a 17-season career, Pafko was a .285 hitter
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
with 213 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 976 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
in 1852 games
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
.
Nicknamed "Handy Andy", Pafko was a popular player well known for good hitting and fielding, and contributed to championship-caliber teams in three different cities. A five-time All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
, he played with the Chicago Cubs during their most recent World Series
1945 World Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 3, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 2:Thursday, October 4, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 3:Friday, October 5, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan...
appearance, in 1945
1945 in sports
1945 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:...
. After Cubs' third baseman Stan Hack
Stan Hack
Stanley Camfield Hack , nicknamed "Smiling Stan," was an American third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago Cubs and was the National League's top third baseman in the late 1930s and early 1940s...
retired the following year, Pafko replaced him on the hot corner long enough to be named an All-Star there, making him one of the few people to achieve All-Star status in both infield and outfield. He was traded to Brooklyn in the middle of the '51 season and, as the Dodgers' left fielder, had the best view of Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
's famous home run later that year. Pafko returned home when he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves before the start of the 1953 season, becoming the only Wisconsin native on the Braves roster when they arrived in Milwaukee and participating in their strong contending teams there, including the 1957 World Series
1957 World Series
The 1957 World Series featured the defending champions, the New York Yankees , playing against the Milwaukee Braves . After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Braves came back in 1957 to win their first pennant since moving from Boston in 1953...
champions. A devout Slovak Lutheran, he was an instant favorite with Milwaukee's large Eastern European community.
After his playing days, Pafko managed in the minor leagues including a two year stint as the skipper for the Kinston Eagles in the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
. He eventually settled in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area, and always provided good copy for the press, especially when the subject of the Cubs would come up. When they won their division in 1984, Pafko mused, "I never dreamed it would take them 39 years to win again. I thought they would have won by accident before then!" Pafko was named to the Cubs All-Century team at the turn of the 21st century.
The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings is a book by former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher Carl Erskine. It is a compilation of short stories about life in the glory days of Major League Baseball. The forward was penned by Hall of Fame announcer Vin...
(2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine
Carl Erskine
Carl Daniel Erskine is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959...
. Pafko is prominent in many of these stories. He is also the title character in Pafko at the Wall
Pafko at the Wall (novella)
"Pafko at the Wall", subtitled "The Shot Heard Round the World", was originally published as a folio in the October 1992 issue of Harper's Magazine. It was later incorporated as the prologue in Don DeLillo's magnum opus novel, Underworld, with minor changes from the original version, such as a new...
and The Perfect Pafko. He also plays a role in Roger Kahn 's American classic, "The Boys of Summer."
Trivia
- Pafko is known for being card #1 in the 1952 ToppsToppsThe Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
baseball card set. This card in near mint or better condition is often worth thousands of dollars because most collectors back in 1952 simply put the cards in numerical order and rubber banded the stack. This causes the top card (Pafko) to receive the most wear and tear and thus top grade copies are very rare and valuable.
- Pafko is also remembered for a 1949 incident in which (according to him) he caught a blooper in the outfield off the bat of St. Louis Cardinal first baseman, Rocky NelsonRocky NelsonGlenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago White Sox , Brooklyn Dodgers and Cleveland Indians .A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Nelson batted and threw left-handed...
. The outfield was strewn with paper cups, perhaps confusing umpire Al BarlickAl BarlickAlbert Joseph Barlick was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League for 28 seasons . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .-Biography:...
who called Nelson safe on a supposedly "trapped" catch. At the time of the play there was a runner on first base with two outs in the top of the ninth inning and the Cubs leading 3-2, so if Pafko had indeed made a valid catch, the Cubs would be 3-2 victors. Pafko started arguing with Barlick, and forgot to call time. By the time the enraged Pafko realized that time had not been called, the base runner on first had scored and Nelson was heading home. Pafko finally threw home, but his throw bounced off Nelson as Rocky slid home, giving the Cards the lead 4-3. The Cardinals subsequently went on to win 4-3 and Nelson was credited with perhaps the only "inside the glove" home run in baseball history.
- Pafko sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch at Wrigley Field on June 12, 2008. The game was a throwback to the first year of WGN-TV baseball broadcasts (1948) where the Cubs and the visiting Atlanta Braves wore their uniforms of that year.
- In the 2010 movie, Cop Out, Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
' character is trying to sell his mint 1952 Topps #1 Pafko card to fund his daughter's wedding. He recounts the story of how most kids rubber banded the stack, hence essentially ruining the top, or Pafko, card. His father, however, put the card in a tobacco tin thus saving it wear and tear.
- Pafko and shortstop Lennie MerulloLennie MerulloLeonard Richard Merullo is an American former professional baseball player who played shortstop in the Major Leagues from 1941–47. He was born in East Boston, Massachusetts.- Chicago Cubs :...
are the only living individuals to have played for the Chicago Cubs in a World Series.
- Pafko was in centerfield for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but unable to catch the "shot heard round the worldShot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...
," Bobby Thomson'sBobby ThomsonRobert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
game-winning 3-run homer in the famous play-off game between the Giants and Dodgers in 1951. Don DeLillo'sDon DeLilloDon DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
short story about the game is thus titled "Pafko at the Wall."