George Cyril Methodius Susce (August 13, 1907 – February 25, 1986) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the Philadelphia Phillies (1929), Detroit Tigers (1932), Pittsburgh Pirates (1939),

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1940) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1941–44). His son, George D., often known as George Susce Jr., was a Major League

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Career as player

Susce was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and attended

Schenley High School Schenley High School, located in the North Oakland neighborhood at the edge of the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a historic building opened in 1916 that was a part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The Schenley High School building ...

, where he played both baseball as a catcher and football as a fullback. Upon graduating high school, he tried out for the Philadelphia Phillies. He did not make the team, but left a positive impression on manager

Stuffy McInnis John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis (September 19, 1890 – February 16, 1960) was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, where his spectacular playing brought ...

. He attended

Glenville State College Glenville State University (GSU) is a public college in Glenville, West Virginia. History Glenville State University was founded in 1872 as a branch of West Virginia Normal School. It became known as Glenville State Normal School. It served th ...

and St. Bonaventure University. He threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, stood tall and weighed . His unusual nickname – "Good Kid" – was given to him as a young player because of his eagerness to help with mundane tasks associated with baseball.''The Baseball Register'' 1965 edition. St. Louis: The Sporting News In eight big-league seasons, Susce played in 146 games and had 268

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, 23 runs scored, 61 hits, 11 doubles, a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

, two home runs, 22

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

, a stolen base and 25 walks, with a .228

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and .301 on-base percentage. In , his last year as a full-time player, Susce appeared in a career-high 61 games for the Browns, starting 37 games at catcher.

Longtime coach

Susce served as a major league

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for 29 years, for the Indians (1941–49),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1950–54),

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

(1955–56), Milwaukee Braves (1958–59) and the expansion Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (1961–67; 1969–72). He managed in the farm systems of the Indians (1948) and Red Sox (1950), but also spent at least parts of those seasons as a major league coach with the parent clubs. In addition, Susce coached for the Triple-A

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

and

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

. Susce died in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

at the age of 78.

References

External links

* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Susce, George 1907 births 1986 deaths Baseball players from Pittsburgh Beaumont Exporters players Boston Red Sox coaches Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Fort Worth Cats players Galveston Buccaneers players Hollywood Stars players Kansas City Athletics coaches Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Braves coaches Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Newark Bears (International League) players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Bonaventure Bonnies baseball players St. Louis Browns players Shreveport Sports players Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Springfield Senators players Texas Rangers coaches Toledo Mud Hens players Washington Senators (1961–1971) coaches