Walt Dropo
Walter Dropo (, Valter Dropo; January 30, 1923 – December 17, 2010), nicknamed "Moose", was an American college basketball standout and a professional baseball first baseman. During a 13-year career in Major League Baseball, he played for the Boston Red Sox (1949–1952), Detroit Tigers (1952–1954), Chicago White Sox (1955–1958), Cincinnati Redlegs (1958–1959) and Baltimore Orioles (1959–1961). Youth Dropo's Serbian parents emigrated from Trebinje, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), to start a new life. His father, Sava, worked at the local textile mill while also running their Connecticut family farm. Walter was raised in Moosup, Connecticut, where he played sandlot baseball with his brothers Milton and George, and attended Plainfield High School in the Central Village district of Plainfield, Connecticut, before attending the University of Connecticut. College career While at the University of Connecticut Dropo played for the football, basketball and baseball teams. His college career was interrupted by World War II, and he served three years in the Army, including combat in Europe. Dropo left UConn as the school's all-time leading scorer in basketball. Dropo was drafted in the first round of the 1947 BAA Draft by the Providence Steamrollers with the fourth overall pick. Dropo was also drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 9th round of the 1946 NFL Draft. Professional career Listed at 6'5", 220 lb (100 kg), Walter turned down offers from the Bears and the Providence Steamrollers, in order to sign with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1947. He debuted on April 19, 1949, and in 11 games batted .146 (6-for-41). Before that, he played first base briefly for the Red Sox farm team the Birmingham, Ala. Barons of the Southern Association double-A League. In 1950, Dropo led the league in RBIs (144) and total bases (326), while batting .322 and hitting 34 home runs, (second only to Al Rosen 37). In addition, his .583 slugging percentage and 70 extra base hits were second only to the .585 – 75 of Joe DiMaggio, and his .961 OPS finished third in the league, after Larry Doby (.986) and DiMaggio (.979). His efforts that season led to his only All-Star appearance. Dropo won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1950, becoming the first Red Sox player to receive the award. In winning the award, he beat future Hall of Famer Whitey Ford, who finished second in balloting. Furthermore, Dropo finished sixth in the American League Most Valuable Player award. In 1951, Dropo fractured his right wrist and never had another season the equal of his 1950 campaign. After another one-plus season, he was traded to Detroit on June 3, 1952. After being traded, he collected 12 consecutive hits to tie the MLB record. Included in the streak was a 5-for-5 game against the Yankees (July 14) and a 4-for-4 performance in the first game of a doubleheader against Washington (July 15). In the second game, he went 4-for-5, hitting on his first