Andy Pafko

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Andrew (Andy) Pafko (born February 25, 1921 in Boyceville, Wisconsin) 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.

In a 17-season career, Pafko was a .285 hitter with 213 home runs and 976 RBI in 1852 games.

Nicknamed "Handy Andy", Pafko was a popular player well known for good hitting and fielding, and had the good fortune to be on 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. He arrived at the Brooklyn Dodgers just in time to play with their pennant winner in 1952. And Pafko really hit paydirt when he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves the next year, becoming the only Wisconsin native in their debut season and participating in their strong contending teams including the 1957 World Series champions.

After his playing days, the native Wisconsinite 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 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.

[edit] Fact

Pafko is perhaps best known for being card #1 in the legendary 1952 Topps 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 to the outfield that was strewn with paper cups, and umpire Al Barlick called St. Louis Cardinals hitter Rocky Nelson safe on a supposedly "trapped" catch. Pafko started arguing with Barlick, and forgot to call time. Nelson circled the bases, for perhaps the only "inside the glove" home run in baseball history.