American baseball player (1916-2002)
Baseball player
Joe Antolick Catcher Born: (1916-04-11 ) April 11, 1916Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania , U.S.Died: June 25, 2002(2002-06-25) (aged 86)Catasauqua, Pennsylvania , U.S.Batted: Right
Threw: Right
September 20, 1944, for the Philadelphia Phillies September 26, 1944, for the Philadelphia Phillies Batting average .333 Hits 2 Runs batted in 0 Stats at Baseball Reference
Joseph Antolick (April 11, 1916 – June 25, 2002) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager , who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies . He appeared in four games , in 1944 , as a 28-year-old rookie . During his playing days, Antolick stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall, weighing 185 pounds (84 kg); he batted and threw right-handed .
Antolick is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the Majors during World War II . His pro career began in 1938 and extended through 1951, but the highest minor league level he reached was Class A (roughly equivalent to Double-A today) with the Utica Blue Sox of the Eastern League in 1945. A season earlier, he was recalled by the Phillies after the 1944 minor league season—which he spent with the Class B Wilmington Blue Rocks —for his big-league debut on September 20, 1944, in a home game against the Cincinnati Reds at Shibe Park . Facing ace right-hander Bucky Walters as a pinch hitter , he grounded out , Walters to first baseman Frank McCormick .[ 1] hit , a single off the Chicago Cubs ' Charlie Gassaway .[ 2] Johnny Peacock and singled in his only at bat off Hank Wyse , one of only four Phillies' hits in a 15–0 loss.[ 3]
In four games he was 2-for-6 (.333) with a walk and one run scored . In his three appearances as a catcher he handled 10 chances without making an error and participated in one double play .
From 1946–51, Antolick was a player-manager in the low minors. He died at the age of 86 in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania .
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