Adam Joseph DeBus Jr. was born on October 7, 1892, in Chicago to Josephine and Adam DeBus Sr., both of Germany.[citation needed] Josephine DeBus, who came to the United States in 1882, became a naturalized citizen in 1931.[citation needed] Adam DeBus Sr., who came to the United States in 1878 and was naturalized in 1887, worked as a cook in Chicago.[citation needed] Adam Joseph DeBus Jr. was his parents' only child.[1] He was raised to speak German.[citation needed]
In 1917, DeBus re-signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers.[5] On July 2, he was sold by the Fargo-Moorhead club to the MLB St. Louis Cardinals.[5] On July 11, DeBus was waived after never making an appearance with the club.[6] He was then signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and reported to the team in Brooklyn, New York.[6] He made his MLB debut in the second game of a doubleheader on July 14, 1917, against the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field.[7] He was sixth in the Pirates batting order.[7] In four at-bats against Brooklyn pitcherRube Marquard, DeBus went hitless.[7] His first MLB hit came on July 17 against Boston Braves pitcher Art Nehf.[8] On July 20, The Pittsburgh Press wrote that DeBus was a "better than ordinary hitter" and that he could "field with the best of them".[9] In August, it was reported that Pittsburgh manager Hugo Bezdek was pleased with the services of DeBus.[10] The syndicated column "Diamond Dust" compared DeBus to former MLB player Art Devlin.[11] His final MLB appearance came on September 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals.[12] In two at-bats against St. Louis pitcher Oscar Horstmann, DeBus went hitless.[12] On the season with the Pirates, he batted .229 with nine runs scored, 30 hits, five doubles, four triples, seven runs batted in (RBIs) and two stolen bases in 38 games played.[13] Defensively, he played 21 games at shortstop and 18 games at third base.[13] DeBus committed 19 errors, 92 assists and 61 putouts.[13] He also converted 10 double plays.[13] Despite initial success in impressing Pirates manager Hugo Bezdek, by the end of the season The Pittsburgh Press wrote that DeBus "[had] probably donned a Pirate uniform for the last time".[14]
After his baseball career was over, he was working for an electrical company based in Chicago.[18] By 1930, he was living with his parents in Chicago working as an electrical auto mechanic.[18] On August 1, 1931, DeBus and his mother boarded the ocean linerSS Bremen in New York City to Germany.[19] By 1942, DeBus was working for Stewart-Warner, a manufacturer of electrical automotive parts.[20] DeBus died on May 13, 1977, in Chicago.[13] He was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago.[13]
^Pomrenke, Jacob (2010). Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox. United States: SABR Inc. p. 326. ISBN9781933599946.
^Bohn, Terry. "Adam DeBus". SABR. Society for American Baseball Research. DeBus was the captain of the Blackhawks, a team that won the championship of the Inter-Allied games in July 1919.
^ abBohn, Terry. "sabr.org". Adam DeBus. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^"Bremen Ship Passenger List". U.S. Department of Labor. New York: U.S. Federal Government. August 1, 1931.
^"U.S. World War II Draft Registration Card". U.S. Armed Forces. U.S. Federal Government. 1942.