Buddy Lewis
Buddy Lewis | |||
---|---|---|---|
Third baseman / Right fielder | |||
Born: Gastonia, North Carolina | August 10, 1916|||
Died: February 18, 2011 94) Gastonia, North Carolina | (aged|||
| |||
MLB debut | |||
September 16, 1935, for the Washington Senators | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 30, 1949, for the Washington Senators | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .297 | ||
Home runs | 71 | ||
Runs batted in | 607 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
John Kelly Lewis (August 10, 1916 – February 18, 2011), better known as Buddy Lewis, was a third baseman/right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Washington Senators (1935–41, 1945–47, 1949).
Lewis was in the starting lineup for the American League in the 1938 All-Star Game. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Only Ty Cobb had more career hits at the age of 24 than Lewis.
Lewis was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
In an 11-season career, Lewis posted a .297 batting average (1,563-for-5,261) with 71 home runs, 607 RBI, 830 runs, 249 doubles, 93 triples, and 83 stolen bases in 1,349 games played. He hit better than .300 4 times.
Lewis' nephew is former major league player Hal Morris.
During World War II, Lewis served in the United States Army Air Forces as a transport pilot. He flew more than 500 missions in the China Burma India Theater and won the Distinguished Flying Cross before returning to the Major Leagues in 1945.[1]
Lewis died on February 18, 2011, at the age of 94, after a long battle with cancer.[2]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of oldest living Major League Baseball players
References
- ↑ Bullock, Steven R. (2004). Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 118–120. ISBN 0-8032-1337-9.
- ↑ Schudel, Matt. "Buddy Lewis, Nats star and World War II pilot, dies at 94" The Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2013
Further reading
- Van Blair, Rick (1994). Dugout to Foxhole: Interviews with Baseball Players Whose Careers Were Affected by World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Publishers.
External links
- The Baseball Page – biography
- profile Baseball Library
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Matt's Pen & Paper Heroes – baseball card