Walt Moryn

Walter Joseph Moryn
(Moose)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• High School Harding High School (St. Paul)
• Debut June 29, 1954
• Final Game September 28, 1961
• Born April 12, 1926 in St. Paul, MN USA
• Died July 21, 1996 in Winfield, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Walt Moryn was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1948 season. The 22-year-old left-handed hitter's first stop was with the Sheboygan Indians where he led the Wisconsin State League in runs scored with 128, hit for a .338 average with 12 home runs and made the All-Star team. Walt had several good minor league years but it tok seven seasons (1948-1954) before the Brooklyn Brass gave him a look in 1954, when he was up for 48 games, hitting .275 in 102 plate appearances. Walt was also with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association that year, hitting .301 with 18 homers in 71 games.

Walt was back with the Dodgers in 1955, but got into only 11 games, hit .263 and spent the rest of the year with the St. Paul club again, where he hit .249 with 25 homers. On December 9th he was traded along with Don Hoak and Russ Meyer to the Chicago Cubs for Don Elston and Randy Jackson.

Walt was a big left-handed swinger with power. He hit a career high .289 with 19 homers and 88 RBIs in 1957 and a career high 26 home runs in 1958, including three in one game against the Dodgers. Moryn was also named to the National League All-Star Team in 1958. Walt who led all National League outfielders with 18 assists in 1956, made an outstanding shoestring catch of a sinking line drive off the bat of Joe Cunningham with two outs in the 9th inning to save Don Cardwell's no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 15, 1960.

Walt closed out his eight-year major league run in 1961, with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, finishing at age 35 with a career .266 batting average with 101 home runs. He had also spent eight seasons in the minors where he appeared in 1,010 games, hit for a .288 average and had 140 four-baggers. After baseball, Moryn who owned a bar in the Chicago area, died July 21, 1996, at age 70 in Winfield, IL.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (1958)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1956 & 1958)

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s
BR Minors page

Related Sites

• Walt Moryn at the SABR Bio Project