Eddie Kazak

Who was Eddie Kazak?

Edward Terrance Kazak was a Major League Baseball third baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds from 1948 to 1952. Born Edward Terrance Tkaczuk, he graduated from Cecil Township High School in 1938, where he played both baseball and soccer. He played sandlot baseball and played in the Georgia-Florida League for a few years, boasting a batting average of .378 in 1941 when with Albany, the team that won the Georgia-Florida pennant.

After the end of the 1942 season on October 1, Kazak entered the military and enlisted with the United States Army. He was originally stationed in Brooks Field, Texas, then joined the paratroopers in 1943. In 1944, Kazak left the United States for Europe. After the Invasion of Normandy, Kazak sustained a bayonet wound to his left arm and had his right elbow shattered by shrapnel. As a result, he spent 18 months in hospitals recovering and enduring numerous operations, including one where a plastic patch was put in place of the missing bone in his elbow. By the time he was released in December 1945, his doctors has told him to forget about baseball.

In 1946, Kazak spent the season in the South Atlantic League, playing for the Columbus Cardinals. In 1947, he played for the Omaha Cardinals of the Western League and the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. Though he has been a second baseman throughout his career, he moved to third base while playing for Rochester in 1948. By the end of the season, Kazak was promoted to the major leagues.