Johnny Broaca

John Joseph Broaca (October 3, 1909 – May 16, 1985) was an American professional baseball pitcher from 1934 to 1939. Broaca won at least 12 games for the New York Yankees his first three seasons. However, in 1937, Broaca took a leave of absence for no apparent reason and only pitched in 7 games. He did not pitch at all in 1938, and in 1939 he played briefly with the Cleveland Indians. His lifetime record as a pitcher for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians was 44–29.

Biography

Broaca was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was of Lithuanian descent.^[1] He attended Lawrence High School, but transferred to and graduated from Phillips Academy after two years. He continued his education at Yale University. While at Yale, he was a tri-sport athlete, competing in baseball, boxing, and track.

In his rookie season with the New York Yankees in 1934, Broaca went 12–9 as a starter with an earned run average of 4.16. In 1935, he had his most successful statistical season, where he went 15–7 with an ERA of 3.58. In 1936, the year the Yankees won the World Series, Broaca was 12–7 with an ERA of 4.24.

In 1937, after starting the season with a disappointing 1–4 record, Broaca mysteriously left the team. His hiatus from baseball extended into the entire 1938 season. It was rumored at the time that Broaca's wife was involved in affairs with a number of his Yankees teammates.

In 1939, Broaca returned to professional baseball with the Cleveland Indians for what would be his last season. He was used primarily as a reliever and appeared in 22 games with a 4-2 record.

After a brief stint as a professional boxer, Broaca returned to his hometown of Lawrence, where he worked the rest of his life as a common laborer allegedly to prevent his ex-wife from receiving alimony.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference