Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 3, 1968) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in

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 (A ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

from through . An eight-time All-Star, Stephens was notable for being the American League home run champion and was a three-time American League RBI champion. He was the

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the us ...

for the only St. Louis Browns team to win an American League pennant in , and was a top

power hitter Power hitter is a term used in baseball for a skilled player that has a higher than average ability in terms of his batting, featuring a combination of dexterity and personal strength that likely leads to a high number of home-runs as well as dou ...

for the

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 eight ...

. Nicknamed "Little Slug", "Junior", and "Buster", Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was inducted into the

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of selected former Boston Red Sox players, coaches and managers, and non-uniformed personnel. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, p ...

in 2006.

Baseball career

Pitching in to stop the Axis short, shortstop Vernie Stephens 8b08245v (cropped)

Stephens was born in McAlister, New Mexico while his parents were en route from Oklahoma to California. He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 batting average with 247

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 1,174 RBI in 1,720 games. Breaking with American Major League baseball, Stephens signed a five-year contract with the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

in 1946. He had been in Mexico only a few days when his father, a minor league umpire, and the Browns scout Jack Fournier drove down and brought him back to the United States. In 1944, Stephens led the American League with 109 runs batted in as he led the Browns to their first and only World Series appearance in St. Louis. He also led the league with 24 home runs in 1945. After the 1947 season, he was traded along with

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

to the Boston Red Sox, but later, after a brief stint with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, returned to the Browns in 1953, their last season in St. Louis. Stephens was the only member of the pennant-winning 1944 St. Louis Browns who played with the Baltimore Orioles when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954. Stephens played five years with the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to 1952.

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

said that he was the most effective of those who followed him in the batting order. In 1949 he batted in 159 runs (tied with Williams for the league lead) and hit 39 home runs, second only to Williams's 43. No other player in the American League had more than 24. Second baseman Bobby Doerr, who was lionized in David Halberstam's book ''Summer of '49'', hit 18 home runs. In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

. He was not selected.

Death

Vern Stephens died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at 48 years of age.

Highlights

* 8-time All-Star (1943–44, 1945 on-official game 1946, 1948–51) * Six times in the Top 10 in MVP voting (1942–45, 1948–49) * Led the American League in home runs during 1945 * Three times led the American League in RBI (1944, 1949–50) * Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50) * Three times in the Top 10 in batting average (1942–43, 1946) * Twice led the American League in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(1948–49) * Was inducted into the

in 2006 * Only man to play for the 1944 American League Champion St. Louis Browns and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, the team the Browns franchise became after it moved to Baltimore in 1954 * Holds the MLB record for RBI in a season by a shortstop, with 159 in 1949 * Became the first shortstop to hit 30 home runs in a season, with 39 in 1949 * Attended Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California (also attended by Tony Gwynn, Chase Utley, Milton Bradley, etc.)

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Vern 1920 births 1968 deaths American League All-Stars American League home run champions American League RBI champions Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Mexico Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Johnstown Johnnies players Major League Baseball shortstops Mayfield Browns players People from Quay County, New Mexico St. Louis Browns players San Antonio Missions players Baseball players from Long Beach, California Springfield Browns players Toledo Mud Hens players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni

Baseball career

Death

Highlights

See also

References

External links