Trivia

Major league baseball player. Played first base for the American League's New York Yankees (1954-1962), Washington Senators (1964), and Chicago White Sox (1964-1967); and the National League's Los Angeles Dodgers (1963).

Made major league debut on 13 April 1954.

He played for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, the Washington Senators, the Chicago White Sox, and the California Angels. He had 1,566 career hits, 888 runs batted and a .282 batting average. He retired as a player and held sales and promotional jobs where he was community affairs representative for the Chicago White Sox at the time of his death.

He is survived by his son, Greg Skowron of Schaumburg, Illinois; his wife, Lorraine "Cookie" Skowron of Arlington Heights, Illinois; his daughter, Lynnette Skowron Morgan; his son, Steve Skowron; his brother, Edward Skowron; and four grandchildren.

He went to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana on a football scholarship and played half-back, punted, and place kicked. He became a collegiate star in baseball playing shortstop and pitching. The New York Yankees signed him in 1950 after he won the Big Ten batting championship. He made his New York Yankee debut in 1954. His best season was 1960 when he hit .309 with 26 home runs, then hit .375 with 2 homers against Pittsburgh in the World Series.

He was named All-Star every season from 1957 to 1961 with the New York Yankees and again in 1965 with the Chicao White Sox. He was at his best in the World Series, hitting 8 home runs, and driving in 29 runs in 39 games. In 1956, he hit a grand slam to help the New York Yankees to a Game 7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1958, he drove in the eventual winning run in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Braves, then hit a three run home in the Yankees Game 7 triumph capping a comeback from a 3 games-to-1 deficit. In 1963, he was traded from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he hit a .385 home run in Los Angeles's 4 game World Series sweep against the New York Yankees.

He hit 211 home runs in 14 major league seasons and batted .300 five times as a New York Yankee. He played for Managers, Casey Stengel and Ralph Houk on the New York Yankees teams that won four World Series championships. He played with Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Roger Maris.