Joe Medwick

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Lore & Background

Medwick was born and raised in Carteret, New Jersey, the son of Hungarian immigrants. He excelled in baseball, basketball, football, and track at Carteret High School. Famed football coach Knute Rockne made arrangements for Medwick to play football at University of Notre Dame, but he chose professional baseball instead. Medwick entered professional baseball in 1930 with the Scottdale Scotties of the Middle Atlantic League. In 75 games he had a .419 batting average and 22 home runs. He spent most of the next two seasons with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League. He made his major-league debut with the Cardinals in 1932. Medwick's hard-charging style of play got him pulled out of the seventh game of the 1934 World Series by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis after a hard slide into third baseman Marv Owen on a triple which caused Detroit Tigers fans to pelt Medwick with fruits and vegetables. Landis also ordered Owen benched. Medwick remains the only known player to be thrown out of a game for his own personal safety. Medwick won the National League Triple Crown and the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1937. On June 12, 1940, the Cardinals traded Medwick and Curt Davis to the Brooklyn Dodgers for $125,000 and four lesser-known players. Six days after joining the Dodgers, on June 18, 1940, Medwick was nearly killed by what some at the time regarded as a beanball thrown by former Cardinals teammate Bob Bowman. Medwick did not blame Bowman for the beaning. On June 16, 1945, Medwick was traded from the Giants to the Boston Braves for catcher Clyde Kluttz. In 1946, Medwick was released by the Braves in February, then signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Browns, but coming out of spring training was unable to stick with the team and was seemingly out of baseball at age 34. He was signed by the Dodgers on June 25; he played in 41 games including the 1946 National League tie-breaker series. He returned to St. Louis to finish his career with the Cardinals in 1947 and 1948. In 1966, Medwick was hired as a hitting instructor in the Cardinals minor league system, a role he held until his death. During spring training in March 1975, Medwick died of a heart attack at age 63 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In Their Own Story

Former teammate Bob Bowman hit Medwick in the temple with a high inside fastball, rendering him unconscious. A mob of Dodgers led by manager Leo Durocher charged the mound and had to be restrained by umpires and uniformed New York City Police Department officers who sat in the dugout to protect Bowman. While Brooklyn's district attorney investigated for deliberate intent, Medwick refused to blame his former teammate, stating, "No direct threat had been made to me by Bowman." Despite the severity of the injury, he returned to hit .300 in 106 games with Brooklyn that season. His career also included a memorable 1944 USO tour where Pope Pius XII asked about his vocation; Medwick replied, "Your Holiness, I'm Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal." He finished his playing days back in St. Louis in 1947 and 1948.

Reader's Guide

Medwick's 64 doubles in 1936 remains the National League record. He also held the National League record with seven consecutive seasons with 40 or more doubles until Stan Musial topped it with nine. Medwick remains the last National League player to win a Triple Crown. In 1984 games played over 17 major-league seasons, Medwick compiled a .324 batting average (2471-for-7635) with 1198 runs, 540 doubles, 113 triples, 205 home runs, 1383 RBI, 437 bases on balls, .362 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage. He recorded a career .980 fielding percentage. In 12 World Series games, he hit .326 (15-for-46) with five runs, five RBI, and one home run. Medwick recorded two five-hit games and 49 four-hit games during his major-league career.

Did You Know?

• Medwick was nicknamed 'Ducky', 'Muscles', and 'Mickey'.
• He is the most recent National League player to win the Triple Crown (1937).
• Medwick was pulled from the 1934 World Series for his own safety after fans pelted him with fruits and vegetables.
• He once told Pope Pius XII, 'Your Holiness, I'm Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal.'
• Medwick's 64 doubles in 1936 remains the National League record.