Emil Kush

Emil Benedict Kush
(Kuputa)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut September 21, 1941
• Final Game August 14, 1949
• Born November 4, 1916 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died November 26, 1969 in River Grove, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Emil Kush pitched twelve seasons 1937 to 1951, six in the major leagues and eight in the minors, losing three years to the military.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1943-1945) (N&C). He pitched for the Chicago Cubs from 1941 to 1949.

Kush "had a natural sidearm sinker and a pretty good curve," according to Cubs manager Charlie Grimm, who recommended Chicago sign him after he tried out on a whim. He pitched mostly in relief and was 9-2 in 1946 and 8-3 in 1947 before arm trouble and an operation curtailed his career.

Considered something of a jinxed pitcher, he often spoke of a 1948 incident. With the Cubs leading by two runs in the 9th with two out and two on, his centerfielder knocked himself cold crashing into the wall pursuing a fly ball. Before another outfielder recovered the ball, the batter circled the bases for a game-winning homer (BC).

After his playing days, Kush went to work in the sales department of an Oldsmobile dealer in Oak Park, IL.

He died at age 53 from carbon monoxide poisoning (possibly self-inflicted) and is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, IL.

Sources

Principal sources for Emil Kush include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs {{{WW}}} (WW), old Baseball Registers {{{BR}}} (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN {{{DAG}}} (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) {{{MORE}}} and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.