Stephen Richard Sundra (March 27, 1910 – March 23, 1952) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

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) ...

who played during eight seasons for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

(1936; 1938–1940), Washington Senators (1941–1942) and St. Louis Browns (1942–1944; 1946). He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

A native of Luxor, Pennsylvania, Steve Sundra was the son of a Czech coal miner. The family moved to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, when he was 16 and Sundra starred in

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History an ...

there. He was signed by the

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 ...

and made his pro debut in 1932, moving up to Toledo in 1934. Cleveland optioned Sundra to Minneapolis and Newark in 1935, and the Yankees obtained him in a three-pitcher deal in December, along with

Monte Pearson Montgomery Marcellus Pearson (September 2, 1908 – January 27, 1978) was an American baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Hoot", he played for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Cincinnati ...

, in exchange for Johnny Allen. His career in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

ran from 1936 to early in 1946, with time out for 1944–1945

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

service during World War II. In 1936, Sundra posted a 12–9 record for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. ...

, leading the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

with a 2.84

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

. After one

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

appearance for the Yankees in April 1936, he was optioned back to Newark. The Bears won the IL championship with a 109–43 mark, and Sundra went 15–4, ranking eighth in the league in ERA (3.09), and was selected for the All-Star Game. Sundra was a member of the

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Yankees in 1938. He won his last four starts during the regular season, then ran off 11 straight victories (three in relief) for the 1939 AL pennant-winners before losing his last start of the season. He appeared in Game Four of the 1939 World Series, pitching 2.2 innings of relief, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs, all unearned, 1 walk and striking out 2. In 1940 Sundra faded, going 4–6, and the next year was sold to the Washington Senators, who in turn sent him to the St. Louis Browns in the 1942 midseason. He won 15 games in 1943, then in , began the year with two

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—pit ...

victories for the pennant-bound Browns. But after his third start on May 2 he entered the Army, thus missing the

1944 World Series World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the only fall classic in which the Browns would ever appear during their 52-year history in the

. Sundra rejoined the Browns for

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

in 1946 after his discharge, but was released on May 29, marking the end of his baseball career. Sundra was good with the bat for a pitcher, posting a .209

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 i ...

(63-for-302) with 33 runs, 2

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 is ...

, 22

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

and 20

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

in 168 games. Later, Sundra sued the Browns under the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, claiming that he should have been kept on the roster for one year. He asked for $5,413, the difference between what he had been paid and his 1946 salary, but lost in federal court in a decision rendered in 1949. He worked in construction until he fell ill in late 1950. Sundra died in Cleveland, four days before his 42nd birthday, a victim of cancer.Cancer strikes down ex-Tribe hurler Sundra
/ref> He is buried in Cleveland's Calvary Cemetery.

References

External links

Baseball AlmanacSteve Sundra
- Baseballbiography.com
1937 Newark Bears
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundra, Steve 1910 births 1952 deaths American people of Serbian descent Baseball players from Pennsylvania Burlington Bees players Deaths from cancer in Ohio Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players New York Yankees players Newark Bears (IL) players Sportspeople from Atlantic City, New Jersey People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Quincy Indians players St. Louis Browns players Toledo Mud Hens players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Zanesville Greys players United States Army personnel of World War II