Bob Zick

Robert George Zick

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 168 lb.
• School University of Illinois
• High School Christian Fenger Academy High School
• Debut May 2, 1954
• Final Game September 6, 1954
• Born April 26, 1927 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died June 12, 2017 in Sun City, AZ USA

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Biographical Information

Right-hander Bob Zick was signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Athletics before the 1949 season and was farmed out to the Tarboro Athletics of the Coastal Plain League where he went 3-4 in 1949 but revved it up and went 13-12 for the same club, while pitching 207 innings in 1950. Zick had a 10-16 record with a 3.53 ERA in 1951 again pitching over 200 innings while with the Salisbury Athletics, which prompted the Chicago Cubs to pick him in the minor league phase of the 1951 Rule V Draft on December 3rd. Zick was 4-2 in 1952 before going 14-12 with a 2.94 ERA while pitching 242 innings in 1953 for the Des Moines Bruins of the Western League.

Zick had earned his shot at the major league hitters and made his debut in the "Show" on May 4, 1954 with the Cubs. Bob appeared in 8 games, all out of the bullpen, pitching 16 innings with no decisions. This was the extent of his big league time. An item appeared in Baseball Digest shortly thereafter which told the story of his reporting to the Cubs and saying, "I'm Zick, to manager Stan Hack, and his responding, "I haven't been feeling so well myself." When asked about it, Bob vehemently denied the account. "Absolutely not. I've heard about that story. It's not true. It never happened."

Zick ended his baseball career the following year after going 2-7 in 1955 with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Bob's seven-year minor league run showed a 53-61 record with a 3.89 ERA while pitching 1,032 innings.

After baseball he became a regional sales manager for the Verson Press Company, a manufacturer of metal stamping presses employed in the production of hoods, roofs and fenders for automobiles for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Over the years he worked and lived in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Detroit and for one three-year stretch, Waterloo, Belgium. As of 2010, he was retired in Phoenix, AZ. He passed away in nearby Sun City, AZ in 2017.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s