Robert Henry Cerv ( ; May 5, 1925 – April 6, 2017) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. Prior to his professional career, he was a collegiate baseball and basketball player at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. He was born in Weston, Nebraska, and served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Cerv signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 1950 and was a little-used reserve outfielder on the perennially

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

-bound Yankee teams of the early 1950s. According to sportswriter

Robert Creamer Robert Watts Creamer (July 14, 1922 – July 18, 2012) was an American sportswriter and editor. He spent most of his career at ''Sports Illustrated''. Appointed Village Historian of Tuckahoe, NY by the Village Trustees on April 9, 1984. Early ...

, interviewed for the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

series ''Baseball'', one afternoon in 1956, Yankees manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

approached Cerv in the Yankees' dugout, sat down nearby, and commented, "There's not many people that know this, but one of us has been traded to Kansas City." However, this sequence of events did not really happen. In fact, Cerv was sold for cash to the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

on October 15, 1956, five days after the Yankees had ended the 1956 World Series with a Game 7 victory over the Dodgers at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tea ...

. By the 15th, the dugouts and clubhouse at Yankee Stadium had all been emptied and the players returned home. Cerv prospered as a regular in Kansas City. His best season was 1958, when he hit .305, hit 38 homers, and had 104 RBIs. He was elected to the American League

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team, beating out

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 ...

for the starting spot. He also finished fourth in the MVP voting that year. He did all of this while playing injured part of the season. He followed up in 1959 with 20 homers and 87 RBIs. On August 20, 1959, Cerv hit three home runs against the Boston Red Sox in an 11–10 loss. In May 1960, Cerv was traded back to the Yankees for Andy Carey. During that year's spring training, Cerv participated in the TV series ''Home Run Derby'', where he defeated

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

. Following the 1960 season, he was drafted by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

and was in the starting lineup for the Angel franchise's inaugural game on April 11, 1961. In May 1961, he was traded back to the Yankees, where he was a substitute and pinch hitter. In June 1962 he was sold to the

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Tex ...

, who released him in August. During the 1961 season, Cerv lived in a $251-per-month () apartment in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

with

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

and

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new List of Major League Baseball p ...

. In his career, Cerv had a .276

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 105

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, including 12 pinch hit homers. He had 624

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 2261 at-bats. Following Cerv's big league career, he coached

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at Southeast Missouri State College and John F. Kennedy College in

Wahoo, Nebraska Wahoo (; from Dakota language, Dakota meaning "Euonymus atropurpureus, arrow wood") is a city and the county seat of Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,818 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Wah ...

, where he also coached the men's basketball team. Cerv died on April 6, 2017, in

Blair, Nebraska Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs Me ...

, aged 91.

In media

Cerv was portrayed by actor

Chris Bauer Chris Bauer is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', '' Third Watch'', '' True Blood'', '' Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce'', and the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series ''For All M ...

in '' 61*'', a 2001

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

movie directed by

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

about the 1961 New York Yankees season in which

and

attempted to break the single-season record of 60

home runs 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 ...

established by

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

in 1927.

Notes

References

External links

Bob Cerv Oral History Interview (1 of 3) – National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital CollectionBob Cerv Oral History Interview (2 of 3) – National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital CollectionBob Cerv Oral History Interview (3 of 3) – National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerv, Bob 1925 births 2017 deaths All-American college baseball players American League All-Stars American men's basketball players Baseball players from Nebraska Houston Colt .45s players Kansas City Athletics players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball outfielders Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players New York Yankees players People from Saunders County, Nebraska United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen