John Kenneth (Johnny) Miljus (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

Џон Кенет Миљуш or Serbian Latin ''Džon Kenet Miljuš'') (June 30, 1895 – February 11, 1976) nicknamed "Big Serb" and "Jovo", was a

Serbian-American Serbian Americans () or American Serbs (), are Americans of ethnic Serb ancestry. As of 2023, there were slightly more than 181,000 American citizens who identified as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be significantly higher, as ...

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 ...

player who pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

between and . Miljus was most likely the first

to play in professional baseball.

Early life

Miljus was born in the Lawrenceville section of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He attended

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

. While in school, he worked in the steel mills and played college football and baseball. He also played on local semi-pro teams, which occasionally faced

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

teams like the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cum ...

. He graduated as a doctor of

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

but never practiced. Miljus served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in France, as part of the 320th Infantry. His wartime bunkmate was Joe Harris. The two of them would later be reunited as members of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Miljus was wounded in action at the Battle of the Argonne and was to be sent home. Instead he chose to rejoin his unit and return to action after leaving the hospital.

Career

After toiling in the minors, this lanky 178-pounder spent six seasons in the major leagues as a pitcher. Miljus reached the majors in 1915 with the

Pittsburgh Rebels The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team tha ...

of the outlaw

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

, spending one year with them before moving to the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

( NL, 1920–21),

(NL, 1927–28) 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

( AL, 1928–29). More than a dependable pitcher, he filled several roles coming out from the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

as a closer or a middle reliever, and as an occasional starter as well. Miljus is probably best remembered as the pitcher who served up a ninth-inning

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

that escaped Pirates'

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 catc ...

Johnny Gooch John Beverley Gooch (November 9, 1897 – May 15, 1975) was an American professional baseball player, coach, minor league manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently for the Pittsburgh Pirates ...

and allowed 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 ...

to sweep the

1927 World Series The 1927 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1927 season. The 24th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirat ...

. In Game 4, after

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

and

Bob Meusel Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left fielder, left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yanke ...

, and with two strikes on

Tony Lazzeri Anthony Michael Lazzeri (December 6, 1903 – August 6, 1946) was an American professional baseball second baseman during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was part of the famed " Murd ...

, the next Miljus pitch rolled far enough away for

Earle Combs Earle Bryan Combs (May 14, 1899 – July 21, 1976) was an American professional baseball player who played his entire career for the New York Yankees (1924–1935). Combs batted leadoff and played center field on the Yankees' fabled 1927 team (o ...

to score the winning run. In a seven-season career, Miljus posted a 29–26 record with 166 strikeouts and a 3.92

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, including 45 starts, 15

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, two

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s, and five saves.

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miljus, Johnny 1895 births 1976 deaths American people of Serbian descent Brooklyn Robins players Cleveland Indians players Duquesne Dukes baseball players Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Rebels players 20th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Pittsburgh St. Marys Saints players Binghamton Bingoes players Toledo Mud Hens players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Rochester Tribe players Bridgeport Bears (baseball) players Seattle Indians players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Hollywood Stars players Indianapolis Indians players United States Army personnel of World War I