Ted Kluszewski Biography
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- Born Sept. 10, 1924
Kluszewski was a National League (NL) All-Star for four seasons. He had a .298 lifetime batting average, hitting over .300 seven times. In 1954, he was the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) runner-up (he had a .326 batting average, led the NL in home runs (49), RBI (141), and fielding average (.996)). In 1959, Kluszewski was traded late in the season to the Chicago White Sox from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted .297 and did not commit any errors in 31 games for Chicago which helped the "Go Go" White Sox of the 1950s clinch the American League pennant. In 1962, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.\n', '
Born in Summit, Illinois, a few miles west of Chicago, Kluszewski was of Polish descent. He played football and baseball and graduated from Argo Community High School, and was discovered at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he played football (1945 team was 9–0–1) as well as baseball (he hit .443 in 1945).\n', '
Due to wartime travel restrictions, the Cincinnati Reds, who normally held spring training in Tampa, Florida, were forced to train at Indiana University from 1943 to 1945. Kluszewski, then a student at the university, drew the attention of Reds\' groundskeeper Matty Schwab. Schwab saw Kluszewski hitting balls over an embankment near the baseball diamond that none of the Reds players was able to get near. Cincinnati Reds scouts were sufficiently impressed, but Kluszewski, who was also a standout tight end on the Hoosier football squad, did not immediately sign, because he did not want to endanger his collegiate football eligibility. Instead, he signed after graduating in 1946. After batting .325 and .377 in two minor league seasons, he was called up to Cincinnati in 1947 and became the Reds\' starting first baseman at the end of 1948.\n', '
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