Eddie Yuhas

John Edward Yuhas

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut April 17, 1952
• Final Game April 28, 1953
• Born August 5, 1924 in Youngstown, OH USA
• Died July 6, 1986 in Winston-Salem, NC USA

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Biographical Information

Right-hander Eddie Yuhas was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees before the 1942 season. The seventeen-year-old pitcher was placed with the Fond du Lac Panthers of the class D Wisconsin State League for his first season and went 5-12 with a 4.30 ERA, appearing in 19 games. The United States Military called him for duty and he then spent the next four years (1943 to 1946) with the Army in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

Back from military service, he found he had been acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1943 and spent 1947 with the Winston-Salem Cardinals of the class C Carolina League. Ed went 10-12 with a 4.55 ERA while pitching 176 innings. Yuhas had two strong winning seasons with the Rochester Red Wings, helping the 1950 International League team to the pennant with a 15-6 record while pitching 204 innings. Ed was with Rochester again the following season, going 13-11 with a 3.04 ERA and earning a ticket to Sportsman's Park in 1952.

Eddie was a 27-year-old rookie with with the Cardinals; he combined with left-hander Al Brazle to form an exceptional bullpen duo. The veteran Brazle was 12-5 with a National League-leading 16 saves in 46 appearances, while Eddie won 12 games against just 2 defeats and added 6 saves with a 2.72 ERA in 54 games. This strong performance, along with Stan Musial's big bat, helped the Cardinals to high hopes for the 1953 season. But Eddie's mound career was cut short when he developed tendinitis in his shoulder the following year in spring training. He was gone from the majors and out of baseball after making just two relief appearances with no decisions for the Cardinals that year. He finished his big league career of two seasons with a 12-2 record with a 2.72 ERA. His last ten decisions in the majors were wins, and he holds the major league record for most consecutive wins to end a career (Henry Schmidt had 9, and three other pitchers finished with 8). Yuhas had toiled six seasons in the minors and finished there with a 59-58 record and a 4.10 ERA.

Yuhas, who owned an Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship, died on July 6, 1985, at age 61 in Winston-Salem, NC.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page