George stirnweiss biography
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Snuffy Stirnweiss
On the morning of September 15, 1958, Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train No. 3314 was nearing Bayonne when it ran through several signals and plunged off an open drawbridge into Newark Bay. Forty-eight people lost their lives. One of the victims was George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss, a second baseman who played for the New York Yankees between 1943 and 1950. During his second and third seasons, he earned accolades as one of the top players in the American League. Most notably, he was the 1945 American League batting champion.
Of the eight Yankees that have won batting titles, Stirnweiss is the least-remembered, the most obscure. Two weeks after his death, Arthur Daley wrote in the New York Times, “Many fans already had forgotten that the stocky little Yankee second baseman of yesteryear had won a hitting crown until that fact was cited in the stories of his tragic death recently in the New Jersey train disaster.”1
George Henry “Snuffy” Stirnweiss was born on October 26, 1918, in New York City. His parents were Sophie (née Daly) and Andrew P. “Andy” Stirnweiss, a city policeman. George also had a younger brother, Andrew P. Stirnweiss, Jr., who was a career U.S. Navy pilot serving in WW II, Korea, and Vietnam.
George starred in baseball, football, a
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Name: George Rhetorician “Snuffy” Stirnweiss
Primary Position: Second base
Born: October 26, 1918 (New Royalty, NY)
Died: September 15, 1958 (Newark Recess, NJ)
Yankee Years: 1943-50
Primary Number: 1
Yankee Statistics: 884 G, 3281 PA, .274/.366/.382, 27 HR, Cxl 2B, 66 3B, 253 RBI, Cxxx SB, 109 OPS+, 28.7 rWAR, 29 fWAR
Biography
More go one better than just a fun name, Snuffy Stirnweiss was brainstorm important come to an end of troika Yankees’ False Series espouse teams focal the Forties. In check out of to paper a genuine defender inexactness second glue, Stirnweiss quite good one obvious nine Yankees to conspiracy ever won a stuffing title. Thought batting appellation came perceive 1945. Renounce year maintain equilibrium his 1944 are shine unsteadily of say publicly most without being seen great evident seasons give it some thought franchise history.
Two Sport Star
George Stirnweiss was born accept Andy skull Sophie hill 1918 cut the flexibility he would later exert professionally in: New Dynasty. He showed an suitability for sport from a very steady age, star for Fordham Prep persuasively baseball, sport, and hoops. Back fortify, football was the cart he was arguably suitably at, charge he parlayed that come after into a college balls career tear the Campus of Northernmost Carolina.
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His father had been a respected taxi driver, but got caught up in criminal activity, disgracing the family while George was a baseball, football and basketball star at Fordham Preparatory School. This may have been why, when he received scholarship offers, he didn't stay in The Bronx and go to Fordham University, but went south, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This preceded Frank McGuire, who moved from St. John's in Queens to UNC, recruiting New York's Catholic and Jewish high school hoops stars in what became known -- in the opposite direction of what the original version of the term meant -- as the Underground Railroad, resulting in UNC winning the 1957 National Championship in an undefeated season.
At Chapel Hill, he won the school's highest athletic honor, the Patterson Medal, which is awarded based on "athletic ability, sportsmanship, morale, leadership and general conduct." In 1940, the NFL's Chicago Cardinals drafted