Jack Shepard

Jack Leroy Shepard

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• School Stanford University
• Debut June 19, 1953
• Final Game September 30, 1956
• Born May 13, 1932 in Clovis, CA USA
• Died December 31, 1994 in Atherton, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jack Shepard was a catcher who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates during a time in the 1950s when they were not very good. Joe Garagiola, who was with the team at almost the same time, derived many of his anecdotes from the team's poor performance. Shepard made his debut with the Pirates two weeks after they traded Garagiola.

The team gradually improved while Shepard was with them, going 50-104 in 1953 (when Shepard was with them for only 2 games) and improving to 66-88 in 1956, Shepard's last year. Shepard had his best year with the bat in 1954 when he hit .304, but appeared in his most games in 1956. In 1954 and 1955, he shared time behind the plate with Toby Atwell, and in 1956 with Hank Foiles.

The Stanford University website says that the Jack Shepard Memorial Award is presented annually to the player with the highest batting average, in honor of Shepard, an All-American catcher with Stanford from 1951 to 1953. In 1951 he was chosen team MVP.

Shepard was at Stanford during the same years as Chuck Essegian.

Related Sites

• Jack Shepard at the SABR Bio Project