Vince Shupe

Vincent William Shupe

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• High School East Canton High School
• Debut July 7, 1945
• Final Game September 30, 1945
• Born September 5, 1921 in East Canton, OH USA
• Died April 5, 1962 in Canton, OH USA

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Biographical Information

"You ought to see this guy Vince Shupe." - the word around town in East Canton, according to a 2008 article about Shupe's career

Vince Shupe had 283 at-bats in his only major league season. Joe Mack was the regular first baseman for the first half of the season for the 1945 Boston Braves and Shupe was the regular for the second half of the season. Mack, who was also a single-season player, appeared in his last game on July 4 while Shupe made his major league debut on July 7.

The Braves finished sixth in the 1945 National League and Shupe's batting average was two points above the team average although he had little power.

Shupe had started in the minors in 1939, and missed 1942-43, possibly (see below) for the war. He regularly hit .300+ in the first few years. After his major league season he played in the minors through 1950, mostly in the PCL.

An article called Who Was Vince Shupe states that he went to East Canton High School and signed with the Dodgers even before he graduated. Although his grave has a "U.S. Veteran" sticker, it is not entirely clear if he served in the war, since he sat out the 1942-43 seasons due to contract issues with the Dodgers. He wasn't much of a runner, and he originally started out as a pitcher in the minors. He dated starlet Jean Peters, also from East Canton, who went on to marry billionaire Howard Hughes. Shupe, whose father had run an orchard, drove a school bus after his playing days, then was a salesman for an oil company. He died young while bowling.