Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League baseball as an outfielder for twelve seasons (1941, 1946 to 1956) with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians. He was an outstanding College player who gave 4 of his prime playing years to military service during World War II. His signing by the Tigers in February 1941 contributing to their releasing fading star Earl Averill. Playing in the Minors the rest if the year, he achieved a one-game call up at the end of the 1941 season, then wouldn’t play a Major League game again until 1946, after he returned from fighting in the War. His 1946 season was then cut short by a broken ankle. He finally was able to play unhurt for a full year, he put together a string of four stellar seasons, batting over .300 three times, and being named to the 1948 and 1950 American League All-Star teams. Additionally he performed well in the field, leading all AL outfielders in fielding percentage in 1950. He achieved career highs in 1950 with 21 Home Runs and 103 RBIS, and hit for the cycle on September 7. However, after those four years he lost his hitting touch, batting only .224 in 1951, 99 points lower then the year before. In June 1952 he was dealt to the Red Sox in a blockbuster deal that also saw such names as Walt Dropo, Johnny Pesky, George Kell and Dizzy Trout change teams. The Red Sox utilized him as a replacement for Ted Williams while Williams was serving in the Korean War, which allowed him to be a starter for one final year. He bounced around with several teams over the next three years (returning to Detroit briefly in one of his stops) before retiring for good in 1956. His career totals were 1,142 Games Played, 1,055 Hits, 556 Runs, 98 Home Runs, 565 RBIS and a career .278 Batting Average.