Saturday, October 24, 2020

1955 Yankee of the Past: Steve Souchock

 PICTURE VICTORY
"Steve Souchock, the veteran Detroit outfielder who admits to 36, and Billy Hunter, the young Yankee infielder, are old pals on a sort of father-son basis. Souchock and Hunter's father used to play a bit of semipro ball around Punxatawney, Pa., when Billy was just growing up.
One day the Tigers and Browns got involved in one of those things that brought the players of both clubs racing on the field and into a free-for-all. In every such happenstance, there is always one core of activity with a few players on the ground flailing away with others pushing and shoving half-heartedly; then there is the fringe element- the boys who, either out of curiosity or sheer loneliness, come out of the dugouts and just stand around.
On this particular day, Souchock was one of the stand-arounders when Hunter, always the clown, sneaked up behind him, yanked him around, grabbed the front of his uniform and feigned hauling off with a roundhouse right, all the while laughing to himself what a great joke this was on his old pal Steve.
Just then, as fate so often contrives, a wayward photographer who couldn't get close enough to the real action, snapped his shutter. What he got was an All-American picture of Hunter about to explode one on Souchock's surprised face. Naturally, the photographer played up the picture pretty big the next day.
Billy took one look, bought up an armful of papers and mailed them to members to members of his own family, Souchock's family and all over Western Pennsylvania with appended notes elaborating on how he had knocked old Steve on the seat of his flannels.
Souchock still hasn't forgiven him."

-Neal Eskridge, Baltimore News-Post (Baseball Digest, May 1955)

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