John Leovich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Leovich | ||
|---|---|---|
| Catcher | ||
| Born: May 5, 1918 | ||
| Died: February 3, 2000 (aged 81) | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| May 1, 1941 for the Philadelphia Athletics |
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| Final game | ||
| May 1, 1941 for the Philadelphia Athletics |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .500 | |
| Hits | 1 | |
| Doubles | 1 | |
| Teams | ||
| Philadelphia Athletics (1941) | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
|
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John Joseph Leovich (May 5, 1918 – February 3, 2000) was an American professional baseball catcher. He was born in Portland, Oregon. He played college baseball and college football for Oregon State University. He was a letterman in football in 1939 and 1940, and in baseball in 1940.[1]
In college, he played in the first-ever Pineapple Bowl in 1940 against the University of Hawaii following the 1939 football season.[2] He played as left end in the game, resulting in a 39-6 win.[2] Leovich was signed to a contract by Connie Mack. This became an issue when athletic director Percy Locey claimed that the A's "stole" Leovich, which was resolved when Mack claimed that he did not know Leovich was in college, and he was signed by a scout.[3] Leovich was also looking over an offer to play for the Detroit Tigers at this time, but eventually chose the Athletics because they had a minor league team in Portland, and was familiar with some of the players and coaches.[4]
He played his first and last game for the Philadelphia Athletics on May 1, 1941 against the Cleveland Indians. In two major league at-bats against Bob Feller, he hit a ground out to shortstop Lou Boudreau and a double to right field.[4] He finished with a career batting average of .500.[5] Shortly after playing in this one career game, he was optioned to the Montreal Royals of the International League. He played for the Portland Beavers the following season.[6]
After being released on October 20,[5] he served in the United States Coast Guard in World War II.[7] He also owned and operated Captain John's Restaurant in Lincoln City, Oregon until his retirement in 1979.[1] He died on February 3, 2000 in Lincoln City.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Former major leaguer Leovich dies. Oregon Stater. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ a b Bowl Game History. OSUBeavers.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ Baumgartner, Stan. "Mack Gives Staff 'Will to Win' Drill", The Sporting News, 1941-02-20, p. 1.
- ^ a b Rose, George (2004). One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories. iUniverse, 15-16. ISBN 059531807X.
- ^ a b John Leovich Statistics. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ "Portland Still Seeks to Cement Big Holes", The Sporting News, 1942-04-02, p. 2.
- ^ Bedingfield, Gary. All Major League Players Who Served with the Armed Forces in WWII. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
