1960 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Bill (Moose) Skowron is one of the few active players who has a better than .300-lifetime figure. Bill is a blaster who hits with power to all fields and has been a Yankee regular for six years. He prepped at Binghamton, Norfolk and Kansas City (then in the American Association) before coming to Yankee Stadium in 1954.
Last season was one the husky first baseman would rather forget. Back injuries and a broken wrist permitted him to appear in only 74 games. But he came up with 15 homers and a .298 average.
Bill, who is 29 and was born in Chicago, is one of six players to hit a grand slam homer in a World Series."
-Don Schiffer, 1960 Mutual Baseball Annual
1959
April 14: Recovered from back injury, hits grand slam, double and single for five RBIs in 13-3 rout of Orioles.
April 18: Four RBIs on home run, triple and single in rout of Red Sox.
April 22: Beats Senators, 1-0, with home run in 14th.
May 5: Beats A's, 3-2, with sacrifice fly in 10th.
May 7: Injures right thigh in exhibition at Los Angeles.
May 17: His pinch single helps beat A's, 3-2.
May 23: Three RBIs on home run and single in rout of Orioles.
May 27: Beats Red Sox, 3-2, with two-run homer in 8th.
May 29: Beats Orioles, 5-2, with two-run single in 5th.
May 31: Beats Senators, 3-0, with three-run homer in 9th.
June 14: Hits home run in each game of sweep by Tigers.
June 20: Five RBIs on two home runs and triple in rout of Indians.
June 21: Hits home run in each game of sweep by Indians.
June 22: Hits home run in fourth straight game in win over A's.
June 27: Named to start at first for American League All-Stars.
July 9: Gets triple and single in win over Red Sox.
July 11: Re-injures back against Red Sox.
July 25: Returns to lineup against Tigers. Breaks left wrist in collision with Coot Veal. Out for season.
Comment: "Skowron is capable of tearing the league apart if he ever manages to stay sound. He's an outstanding hitter with devastating power, but is injury prone."
-Joe Sheehan, Dell Sports Magazine Baseball, April 1960
"'It's about Moose got a good break!' That's what most everyone was saying in spring training this year.
Injuries have plagued Bill Skowron's career. The affable slugging first baseman has had rough going during most of his limited big league tenure. Pulled muscles, then a back injury just before the 1957 World Series, the same injuries last year, culminated by a broken wrist when hit by a base runner in Detroit have kept Moose on the bench much of the time.
When he went out of the lineup for good last July, Bill was leading the club in RBIs, was near the tops in batting and homers. Carefully supervised in his convalescence at Mayo Clinic last winter, Skowron was a determined athlete this spring. A full season from Skowron will have Manager Casey Stengel smiling in October ... not to mention the Moose himself."
-The New York Yankees Official 1960 Yearbook
William Joseph Skowron (1B) #14
Born December 18, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, resides in Hillsdale, N.J. Height: 6-0, weight: 191. Bats right, throws right. Married and father of two boys, Gregory (6) and Stephen (3).
-The New York Yankees Official 1960 Yearbook
"Signed off the campus of Purdue University, where he played football and baseball, Bill Skowron has been with the Yankee organization throughout his career.
Originally an outfielder and third sacker, Moose opened the 1951 season at Binghamton, and after 21 games was sent to Norfolk where he won the Piedmont League batting title with a .334 mark.
Bill advanced to Kansas City of the American Association in 1952 and hit .341 while leading the loop in home runs (31) and runs batted (134).
A second good year with A.A. Blues bought the Chicago-born slugger to the Bronx. Platooned at first base, with Joe Collins, Skowron hit a rousing .340 in 87 games in his freshman campaign.
In 1955, playing in 108 contests, he posted a .319 mark. As a regular in '56, Skowron had 23 homers, 90 RBIs and a .308 mark, pretty good for the ex-Boilermaker shortstop.
In 1957 and 1958 he had marks of .304 and .273. Last season, when he was out for half the year, Bill hit .298 but his 84 hits in 74 tilts included 15 homers, 13 doubles and five triples.
Injuries have prevented the six-foot, 190-pound righty from reaching his full potential. A bad back, torn thigh muscle and broken wrist have been among his ails since joining the Yankees.
Bill now makes his home in Hillsdale, N.J., with Mrs. Skowron and their two children. He has a business in New Jersey and lives there year round.
An accident-free Skowron could enhance the Yankee pennant chances in 1960."
-New York Yankees 1960 Yearbook (Jay Publishing Co.)
"Before the season started, experts were saying that any comeback by the Yankees in 1960 would depend on the return to duty of big Bill 'Moose' Skowron. Well, Moose beat the injury jinx that has haunted his Yankee career and recorded one of his best big league seasons. He hit better than his lifetime average of .303, topped his previous home run high and about equaled his personal high RBI total."
-1960 World Series Official Souvenir Program
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