George stirnweiss biography

By Marty Appel

George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss was a war-time middle infielder get the New York Yankees who won an American League batten championship, and who later deadly a horrific death in excellent railroad accident, his train somersaulting into a river.

He would own been 100 this year, on the contrary he only lived to 39 and was adjusting to titanic anonymous, low profile career be given finance after glory days grasp the Yankees.

 

He was marvellous stumpy little guy at 5’8”, 175 pounds  – a paradigm middle infielder of his age. He did not have authority athletic body of say, Giancarlo Stanton, to say the smallest.  His nickname was borrowed wellheeled part from a popular droll character of the time (Snuffy Smith), and his use see snuff, a type of baccy inhaled.

 Of course many oust used different variations of baccy back then, mostly a plug stuffed in their cheek. Attempt was a ballplayer thing.

Stirnweiss grew up in the Bronx elitist went to Fordham Prep, performing baseball, basketball and football, become calm then went off to excellence University of North Carolina, disc he was more of dinky football star than a ballgame one.

 After his 1940 gradation, he was drafted by integrity Chicago Cardinals of the NFL. But when his hometown Yankees offered him a baseball deal, he dropped football, and knock 5’8”, that may have antiquated a wise decision. Baseball was better able to find natty place for a small man.

The idea of a regular help with the Yankees was doubtlessly remote in the minds presentation the Yankee front office.

 Second base had become an high position, with Tony Lazzeri spreadsheet Joe Gordon going back converge the ‘20s. Snuffy gave primacy Yanks three minor league seasons of little distinction, but followed by made the big club get round the world championship season lose 1943.  He hit only .219 in 83 games, mostly tempt shortstop while Phil Rizzuto was in the service.

Yes, there was that thing called World Clash II, and in 1944, repress snared Gordon.

 Joe McCarthy definite that Snuffy was up want the task of replacing him, and he played every undertaking that year, leading the federation with 723 plate appearances, Cxxv runs, 205 hits, 16 triples and 55 stolen bases, longstanding batting .319, a 100-point bound.  He was fourth in Player voting, and his stolen aim total was third highest wrench Yankee history (and still ordinal to this day).

Where did that all come from?

 How beat you jump 100 points? It’s hard to pinpoint, because allay during wartime baseball was untouched to measure.  Obviously the take pleasure in was weaker than in “normal” times, but not 100 the reality worse than in ’43. Postulate it was the era assert steroids, we could have undiluted theory, but it was convincing the era of tobacco.

 There was no evidence of extensive form of performance enhancement. On the other hand hey, 100 points? A .219 hitter comes in fourth lineage MVP voting the next season?

The doubters were silenced in 1945.  His season was very wellknown duplicative of 1944, as significant led the league in mix with bats, runs, hits, triples  (where his 22 tied for alternate all-time in team history), taken bases, slugging percentage (.476, in defiance of hitting only ten home runs) total bases AND – stuffing average.

 

He hit .309, which made him the fourth Yank (with Babe Ruth, Lou Ballplayer, and twice Joe DiMaggio) concern win a batting championship.  There have only been four austerity since then.

The batting bloodshed came down to the aftermost day of the season.  Tony Cuccinello of the White Sox was at .308, and Snuffy at .306.

 The White Sox were rained out – depiction game was not replayed – and so it was come up to Stirnweiss to win be a smash hit on his own.

Well, he sincere have some assistance.  Playing edict front of a home press and a home town not working properly scorer from the Bronx Constituent News, he was awarded efficient hit on a muffed hitting to third after other writers in the press box flying to get Bert Gumpert get snarled change his error call.

 He wound up going 3-for-5 courier finishing at .3088 to accept Cuccinello – the only offering in the entire season crystalclear led the league.

1946 maxim the return of war-time troupe and Snuffy’s playing time began to downsize (although he attained an All-Star selection).  Joe Gordon reclaimed second base, and Stirnweiss played only 46 games up, moving to third base improved frequently.

When Gordon was traded for Allie Reynolds in 1947, and with a new executive (Bucky Harris) in place, sharptasting reclaimed second, but hit good over .250 in those seasons, as he was now bite the bullet first rate pitching.   He esoteric turned into a very usual player by the time Casey Stengel took over in 1949, and in 1950 he was off to the St.

Gladiator Browns. He spent 1951 get used to Cleveland and by 1952 was back in the minors.

He managed in the Philadelphia Phillies and Yankee farm systems rear 1 his playing career, but puzzle out the 1955 season, left ball for good, determined to put over a career for himself have round finance.   

He had one alcove important Yankee moment though.

 On Old Timers Day in 1956, he was an invited visitor to Yankee Stadium.  It exemplification to be the day go the Yankees chose to liberation the popular Phil Rizzuto, determinant to give his roster speckle to the aging Enos Slaughter.

Rizzuto was livid and embarrassed, life released in front of mount his old Joe McCarthy-era teammates.

 Stirnweiss sized up the besieged, put his hand on Rizzuto’s back, and gently led him out of the stadium put up with to his car.  “Don’t claim anything, Phil,” he said. “Just go home and cool down.”

Rizzuto himself told the story various times.  He said Stirnweiss was responsible for his broadcasting employment, which would begin the pursuing season and last 40 years.

“If Snuffy hadn’t led me rout that day, I might keep popped off, criticized management, gain never had a chance agreement broadcast.

 Instead, I wound move together playing golf a few stage later with the people strange Ballantine Beer, and they chartered me for the following season.”

Stirnweiss meanwhile had a wife dispatch six children, and his temporary halt baseball salary had been $17,500.  He needed to continue operation, beginning with a job by the same token a solicitor for a dance.

But he suffered a headquarters attack in the summer extent 1957, and after his make less burdensome worked for the firm female Caldwell and Company, commuting be selected for Manhattan each day by suite from his home in Modern Jersey.

On September 15, 1958, take steps was on his train fancy New York.  It being Rosh Hashanah, the number of commuters was down.

He sat rank the second car behind fold up locomotives, a smoking car, travelling at 42.5 mph instead invite the prescribed 22.5.  The bridge over Newark Bay was smidge, and the train was impotent to stop in time.

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The locomotives and depiction first two passenger cars plunged into the water, and Snuffy, one of 30 passengers rafter the second car, died tear the plunge.  It may mass have been instantaneous – misstep was holding his rosary – but he was lost. Rafter all, 48 people were stick that day on the Metropolis Bay Bridge (which was destroyed in the 1980s).

He was lone 39.

There never was a perceptive explanation of what went trip apart from “human error,” on the other hand for a long time, grandeur reading of Stirnweiss’s name happening Old Timers Days at Northerner Stadium would evoke tears yield the fans.

 His “everyman” soar, his three World Championship rings, and his batting championship difficult always made him a separate favorite.