Milt Bocek
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Milt Bocek | ||
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Left Field | ||
Born: July 16, 1912 | ||
Died: April 29, 2007 (aged 94) | ||
Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | ||
September 3, 1933 for the Chicago White Sox |
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Final game | ||
August 2, 1934 for the Chicago White Sox |
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Career statistics | ||
AVG | .267 | |
HR | 1 | |
RBI | 6 | |
Teams | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
None
None |
Milton F. Bocek (July 16, 1912 - April 29, 2007) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his playing career, he had an official heights of 6'1", and an official weight of 185 pounds. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he was popularly known as "Beltin' Bo from Cicero".[1]
While Bocek was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he became a fairly prominent summer amateur and semipro player in baseball and softball.[1] Chicago White Sox manager Lew Fonseca noticed him and arranged a tryout at Comiskey Park, during which Bocek hit several balls into the upper deck.[1] He signed with the White Sox in the second half of 1933, becoming the fifth-youngest player in Major League Baseball that season, and then spent the first part of the 1934 season with the team as well. Subsequently, he played several years in the minor league systems of the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees.
After the end of Bocek's playing career, he worked as a draftsman for Danly Machine Company and later at a family owned business, also serving in the United States Army during World War II.[1] He was married to his wife Victoria for 58 years before her death in 2006, and they had three children and eight grandchildren.[1] Until Bocek's death on April 29, 2007, he held the distinction of being the oldest living White Sox player.[1] He died in Brookfield, Illinois after a brief illness. He is buried next to his wife at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, IL.
- Debut September 3, 1933
- Final Game August 2, 1934