Dick Weik

Richard Henry Weik
(Legs)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3½", Weight 184 lb.
• School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• High School Peoria Central High School
• Debut September 8, 1948
• Final Game July 5, 1954
• Born November 17, 1927 in Waterloo, IA USA
• Died April 21, 1991 in Harvey, IL USA

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Biographical Information

A 6' 3½", 185-pound right-hander, Dick Weik was also known as "Legs." He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators before the 1946 season. In his first start after signing, pitching for the Charlotte Hornets of the class B Tri-State League he threw a a complete game victory allowing three runs on three base hits but issued 15 base on balls.

In a career plagued by wildness, he went 6-22 in 76 games for the Senators, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers between 1948 and 1954, walking 237 batters in 214 innings. Dick, who once walked 13 in a game against the Chicago White Sox, was 3-12 in 27 games for the 1949 Senators but did show a flash of promise in his final start of the season with a two-hit shutout.

He walked 10 or more batters 4 times in his 26 career starts. Baseball historian David Nemec credited him with the "The Amos Rusie Award for the Most Consistent Lack of Control" by a right-handed pitcher.

"Legs" was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Mickey Vernon in one of the worst deals ever for Cleveland. On either side of two years in the Army in 1951 and 1952 during the Korean War, he won just one game in 1950 and lost his only decision in 1953 in 23 appearances. Vernon was the everyday first baseman for the Senators from 1951 to 1955, winning the American League batting title with a .337 average in 1953.

After last pitching for Detroit in 1954, Dick finished out his pro baseball career that same year, going 1-3 with the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association. Dick worked as a supervisor in the catalog department for Sears prior to his death on April 21, 1991, at age 63 in Harvey, IL.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s
Minors Page