Michael Tresh Jr (February 23, 1914 – October 4, 1966) 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 ...

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 ...

, who played 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 ...

(MLB) for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1938–1948) 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 ...

(1949). Tresh batted and threw right-handed. His son,

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, also played in the big leagues, from 1961 to 1969. In a 12-season career, Tresh posted a .249

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 ...

with two

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 and 297 RBI in 1027

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. Associat ...

. His best season was 1940, when he batted .281 with 64 RBIs, 62 runs, and 135

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 ...

—all career-highs. Tresh was durable enough to catch all 150 White Sox games in 1945, and is just one of three 20th century catchers to catch every one of an MLB team's games in a season. The others are Frankie Hayes (

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

) and

Ray Mueller Ray Coleman Mueller (March 8, 1912 – June 29, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1944 and 1946 to 1951. Nicknamed "Iron Man", Mueller was the starting catcher in ev ...

(

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

), each with 155 games caught in 1944. After having suffered from a heart attack earlier in the year, Tresh died from cancer at the age of 52 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and is interred at Michigan Memorial Park in

Flat Rock, Michigan Flat Rock is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States, with a small portion of the city extending into Monroe County. At the 2020 census, the population was 10,541. History Flat Rock began as a Wyandot settlement. It was later designat ...

Early life

Tresh was born in

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second-most populous city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on ...

to Michael Tresh, a Galician immigrant, and Mary, a Pennsylvania native. He grew up with three sisters; Anna, Katherine, and Margaret. In the 1920s, his family moved from Pennsylvania to

, and Michael worked as a truck driver before becoming a baseball player. In the late 1930s, he moved in with his wife Doris's family in

Allen Park Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 27,528. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city lim ...

, where his wife gave birth to their son, Thomas Michael Tresh.Year: ''1940''; Census Place: ''Allen Park, Wayne, Michigan''; Roll: ''m-t0627-01827''; Page: ''1B''; Enumeration District: ''82-48A''

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Baseball CatchersIron Men Catchers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tresh, Mike American League All-Stars Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Springfield Senators players Beaumont Exporters players Moline Plowboys players Henderson Oilers players Wausau Timberjacks players Shreveport Sports players Toledo Mud Hens players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Portland Beavers players Daytona Beach Islanders players Major League Baseball catchers Sportspeople from Hazleton, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Deaths from cancer in Michigan 1914 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

See also

References

External links