Mike Chartak

Michael George Chartak
(Shotgun; The Volga Batman)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut September 13, 1940
• Final Game September 27, 1944
• Born April 28, 1916 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died July 25, 1967 in Cedar Rapids, IA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

“He can hit the ball as far as Ruth… [and] has the Jimmie Foxx stride… [the] Joe DiMaggio swing.” - The Sporting News

Mike Chartak was a wartime big leaguer, playing for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns in 1940 and from 1942 to 1944. He socked 10 home runs in each of 1942 and 1943, seeing fairly regular action. In the 1944 World Series he was a pinch-hitter in Games 5 and 6, striking out against Ted Wilks of the St. Louis Cardinals to end the finale, Game 6, in what proved his final big league appearance. The book As Good As it Got: The 1944 Browns has a photo of him, and says he was working a war plant job until May 1944, when he joined the Browns full-time.

Chartak was an outfielder on the 1938 Newark Bears, one of the great minor league teams with a record of 104-48. During seven seasons in the minors, he posted a batting average of .306 and a slugging percentage of .509. The Deadball Era site lists him as a bartender after his baseball days.

In April 1945 it was discovered he had tuberculosis in his left lung and was sent to a sanatorium, ending his career. Doctors discovered spots on Chartak's lungs during a pre-induction military examination. Over the next 23 years, Chartak spent the majority of his time in sanatoriums. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis on July 25, 1967 at a sanatorium in Oakdale, Iowa.

Related Sites

• Mike Chartak at the SABR Bio Project