Johnny Pesky aka “The Needle” and Ted Williams aka “Teddy Ballgame”- WWII, Korean War & Red Sox Legends
Johnny Pesky
Born September 27th, 1919 in Portland Oregon, Johnny Pesky (born John Paveskovich) played for the Boston Red Sox from 1942 to 1952 with a 4 year break where he served in the U.S. Navy during WWII.
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| Pesky - Middle |
He only played a year in the Majors before going off to war.
Returning in 1946, Pesky continued to be a huge impact for the Red Sox and led
the league in base hits in his first three seasons. He retired with a .307 life time batting average.
In 2006, the Red Sox officially named the right field foul
pole after him, “Pesky’s Pole” and 2008 retired his jersey number, 6, to honor
his 61 years of dedication to the Red Sox organization.
Ted Williams
Born August 30th, 1918, Theodore Williams was
called “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived.” Like, Pesky, Williams played on
the Red Sox, and also served his country in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Williams left for war in 1942, like Pesky. Williams was awarded numerous batting titles throughout his career - 2 triple crown awards, and was a 6 time AL batting champion and 2 MVP awards. He still holds the MLB record for on base percentage at .482. He is also known for being the last pro to hit over .400 over the course of a season.
Both Pesky and Williams were naval aviators in the Navy. Pesky never saw combat, but Williams returned to duty in 1952 in the Korean War as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot. He flew over North Korea 39 times and once crash landed after being hit with small arms fire leaving with only a sprained ankle.
American heroes, and icons.
American heroes, and icons.
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| Pesky's Pole - Right field at Fenway Park |
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| Williams and Pesky on Navy baseball team |
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| Pesky's Pole |
I'd like to know why the foul pole became Pesky's Pole. What is the story? Did he hit a lot of foul balls?
ReplyDeleteApparently know one knows for sure. Pesky wasn't a power hitter, so when he would hit what was normally a "routine" fly ball in any other ball park, it would be a home run if in the right field corner at Fenway. Thus, Pesky's pole. But no one knows exactly where it started. I just added a link to the blog post from boston.com that talks about it.
ReplyDelete