Lou Bekeza

Lewis Bekeza (August 14, 1917 – August 20, 2004) was a longtime minor league baseball player and manager, as well as a minor league general manager.

Playing career

Bekeza played from 1938 to 1941, missing 1942 to 1945 to World War II. He then played from 1946 to 1952 and in 1954. Over the course of his 12-year minor league career, Bekeza played in at least 1,238 minor league games, collecting at least 1,367 hits.^[1]

Managing career

In 1946 and 1947, Bekeza managed the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs, leading them to a loss in the league finals in 1946. He managed the Marion Cubs and Janesville Cubs in 1948, each for part of the season. In 1949, he led the Centralia Cubs to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League playoffs, although they lost in the first round. He managed the Centralia Sterlings in 1950 and the Centralia Zeroes in 1951, leading them to a first round loss in the league's playoffs. In 1952, he managed the Yuma Panthers. He did not manage in 1953, although he did manage the Mount Vernon Kings in 1954.

In 1950 and 1951, he served as the general manager of the Centralia teams he managed.

Anecdote

Bekeza was involved in a situation on July 4, 1947, while managing the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs. During that game, Bekeza started an argument with umpire Jeff Puckett, who ended up being knocked unconscious and getting a broken nose by an angry Elizabethton fan. Bekeza was fined $20 and suspended three games for starting the initial argument, and the team was fined $75 for allowing money to be collected in the stands to pay the fine levied on Puckett's attacker.^[2]

References