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Johnny Kucks
From BR Bullpen
John Charles Kucks
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 184 lb.
- Debut April 17, 1955
- Final Game September 25, 1960
- Born July 27, 1933 in Hoboken, NJ USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Johnny Kucks went to the World Series with the Yankees in each of his first four seasons in the majors. During the regular season, his best year was 1956, when he went 18-9 and was named to the All-Star team.
He was in the 1952 class B Piedmont League, going 19-6 with a 2.55 ERA. He was second in the circuit in victories and 7th in ERA. He then missed 1953-1954 due to military service. When he returned to baseball in 1955, he went straight to The Show with the New York Yankees. The next year he had his best game, pitching a 3-hit shutout in Game 7 of the 1956 World Series. Source: minorleaguebaseball.com article on the 1952 Norfolk Tars, by Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright
After his major league days, he was the top pitcher on the 1962 and 1963 Atlanta Crackers, winning 14 games both seasons.
An article in the August 1956 Baseball Digest indicates that he pronounced his name "cooks", and is of German extraction. He grew up in New Jersey. When he was 18 he pitched for the amateur Burlington team, and his best friend on the team was Johnny Podres. He also pitched for Malone before going into the professional ranks with Piedmont. While in the service he was stationed in Germany and played a lot of service ball. The Digest article, entitled "The Smiling Stopper", referred to Johnny as pleasant and often smiling.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- AL All-Star (1956)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1956)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1956)
- Won two World Series with the New York Yankees (1956 & 1958)
