Vern Stephens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vern Stephens | |
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| Shortstop | |
| Born: October 23, 1920 McAlister, New Mexico |
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| Died: November 3, 1968 (aged 48) Long Beach, California |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 13, 1941 for the St. Louis Browns | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 30, 1955 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .286 |
| Home runs | 247 |
| Runs batted in | 1,174 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 3, 1968) was an American shortstop in professional baseball who played 15 seasons in the American League for four different teams. A native of McAlister, New Mexico, Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was also nicknamed "Pop-up Stephens", "Junior", and "Buster".
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Career [edit]
One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 batting average with 247 home runs and 1174 RBI in 1720 games. Breaking with American Major League baseball, Stephens signed a five-year contract with the Mexican League in 1946. He had been in Mexico only a few days when his father, a minor league umpire, and the Browns scout Jack Fournier drove down and brought him back to the United States.
Vern Stephens died of a heart attack in Long Beach, California at 48 years of age.
In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
Highlights [edit]
- 8-time All-Star (1943–44, 1945 [non-official game], 1946, 1948–51)
- Six times in the Top 10 in MVP voting (1942–45, 1948–49)
- Led the American League in home runs during 1945
- Three times led the American League in RBI (1944, 1949–50)
- Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50)
- Three times in the Top 10 in batting average (1942–43, 1946)
- Twice led the American League in games played (1948–49)
- Was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006
- Only man to play for 1944 American League Champion St. Louis Browns and the Baltimore Orioles, the team the Browns franchise became after it moved to Baltimore in 1954
See also [edit]
- Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2009
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of Boston Red Sox awards
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
External links [edit]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Baseball Almanac
- Vern Stephens at Find a Grave
- Baseball Library
- The Deadball Era
| Preceded by Rudy York |
American League RBI Champion 1944 |
Succeeded by Nick Etten |
| Preceded by Nick Etten |
American League Home Run Champion 1945 |
Succeeded by Hank Greenberg |
| Preceded by Joe DiMaggio |
American League RBI Champion 1949-1950 (1949 tied with Ted Williams 1950 tied with Walt Dropo) |
Succeeded by Gus Zernial |
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Categories:
- American League All-Stars
- American League home run champions
- American League RBI champions
- Baltimore Orioles players
- Boston Red Sox players
- Chicago White Sox players
- St. Louis Browns players
- Major League Baseball shortstops
- Baseball players from New Mexico
- 1920 births
- 1968 deaths
- People from Quay County, New Mexico
