39 Facts About Johnny Pesky

John Michael Pesky was born on John Michael Paveskovich; February 27,1919 – August 13,2012, and nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach.

Johnny Pesky was a shortstop and third baseman during a ten-year major league playing career, appearing in 1,270 games played in 1942 and from 1946 to 1954 for three teams.

Johnny Pesky was associated with the Boston Red Sox for 61 of his 73 years in baseball—from 1940 through June 3,1952,1961 through 1964, and from 1969 until his death.

Johnny Pesky managed the Red Sox from 1963 to 1964, and in September 1980.

Left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Johnny Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out.

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Johnny Pesky was an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hits in 1942.

Johnny Pesky was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio, as chronicled in The Teammates by David Halberstam.

Johnny Pesky was born February 27,1919 in Portland, Oregon, the son of Croat immigrants Jakov and Marija Paveskovich.

Johnny Pesky spent several years playing for local amateur teams, such as the Portland Babes, Bend Elks and Silverton Red Sox.

Johnny Pesky was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox before the 1940 season and spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues.

Johnny Pesky was second only to teammate Ted Williams in average at.

The switch took a toll on Johnny Pesky, who had his worst season to date as a hitter, as his average dropped to.

Johnny Pesky began the 1952 season slowly, and by mid-June he had played in just 25 games, batting.

Johnny Pesky was traded to the Detroit Tigers in a nine-player deal, in which the Red Sox traded Walt Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Don Lenhardt, and Bill Wight and acquired Hoot Evers, George Kell, Johnny Lipon, and Dizzy Trout.

Johnny Pesky was traded in mid-season to the Washington Senators for Mel Hoderlein.

Johnny Pesky was signed by the Baltimore Orioles on December 16,1954, but was released four months later on April 10,1955.

Johnny Pesky signed with the New York Yankees, where he was assigned to their top farm club, the Denver Bears as a player-coach.

Johnny Pesky played 17 games in the Carolina League with the Durham Bulls franchise in 1956.

The story goes that Johnny Pesky won a game for Parnell in 1948 with a home run down the short right field line, just around the pole.

Research shows that Johnny Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11,1950.

Johnny Pesky began his coaching career in the New York Yankees organization with the 1955 Denver Bears of the Triple-A American Association working under manager Ralph Houk.

From 1956 through 1960, Johnny Pesky was a manager in the Detroit farm system, reaching the Double-A level with the Birmingham Barons and the Victoria Rosebuds.

Johnny Pesky then rejoined the Red Sox in 1961 as manager of their Triple-A farm club, the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League.

Johnny Pesky then left the Red Sox for four seasons, and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

From 1965 through 1967, he served as first-base coach for Pirate manager Harry Walker, who had hit the double that scored Enos Slaughter with the winning run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series—the play on which Johnny Pesky was accused of "holding the ball" on a relay from the outfield, allegedly hesitating as Slaughter made his "mad dash" for home from first base.

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Johnny Pesky worked with Ken Coleman and Ned Martin on Boston's WHDH Radio and TV from 1969 to 1971, then strictly on television with Coleman on WBZ-TV from 1972 to 1974.

Johnny Pesky later served as analyst for selected games on radio with Joe Castiglione calling play-by-play.

In 1975, Johnny Pesky finally returned to uniform as a full-time coach under manager Darrell Johnson.

Johnny Pesky remained first-base coach under Johnson and his successor, Don Zimmer, before moving to a bench and batting coach role for Zimmer in 1980.

Johnny Pesky was especially valued by Sox slugger Jim Rice, with whom Pesky worked tirelessly.

Intermittently, Johnny Pesky was allowed to sit on the Red Sox bench during games, but three times was prevented from the task—once by his own general manager, Dan Duquette, a second time when the Baltimore Orioles complained to MLB, and a third time in March 2007, when Major League Baseball announced it would enforce limitations that only six coaches could be in uniform during a game.

Johnny Pesky played a poignant and prominent role in the ceremony in which the World Series Championship Rings were handed out – and he himself was awarded the World Series ring that had eluded him as a player and manager.

On September 23,2008, the Red Sox announced that they would retire the number 6 Johnny Pesky wore as a player to mark his 89th birthday and his long years of service to the club.

Johnny Pesky's was the sixth number retired by the Red Sox; his number retired was the first to break the club's code to have a number retired: being in the Baseball Hall of Fame and having spent at least ten years with the Red Sox.

Johnny Pesky was a longtime resident of Boston's North Shore, living in Lynn and then Swampscott, Massachusetts.

Johnny Pesky was a visible member of the community, making personal appearances for the Red Sox.

On May 16,2009 Johnny Pesky was given an honorary degree during Salem State College's 199th commencement ceremony.

Johnny Pesky was wheeled out to second base in a wheelchair, aside Bobby Doerr, to join over 200 past Red Sox players and coaches through the decades.

Johnny Pesky died on August 13,2012, at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, Massachusetts at the age of 93; he was buried next to his wife Ruth, who died in 2005.