Joe Adcock ✝

Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was a major league baseball player and manager in the Major and Minor Leagues. He was best known as a first baseman and right-handed slugger with the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s, whose career included numerous home run feats. A sure-handed defensive player, he later retired with the third highest career fielding percentage by a first baseman (.994). His nickname "Billy Joe" was modeled after Vanderbilt University basketball star "Billy Joe Adcock" and was popularized by Vin Scully.\n', ' Born in Coushatta, the seat of Red River Parish in northwestern Louisiana, Adcock attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he played on the baseball team; before attending college he had never played a game of baseball in his life.\n', ' He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds, however Ted Kluszewski had firm hold on the team\'s first base slot. Adcock played in left field from 1950 to 1952, but was extremely unhappy, demanding a trade, which he received.\n', '