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{{short description|American baseball player (1920–1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Vern Stephens
|name=Vern Stephens
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|throws=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date|1920|10|23}}
|birth_date={{birth date|1920|10|23}}
|birth_place=[[McAlister, New Mexico]]
|birth_place=[[McAlister, New Mexico]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1968|11|3|1920|10|23}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1968|11|4|1920|10|23}}
|death_place=[[Long Beach, California]]
|death_place=[[Long Beach, California]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 13
|debutdate=September 13
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|finalteam=Chicago White Sox
|finalteam=Chicago White Sox
|statleague = MLB
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average]]
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.286
|stat1value=.286
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
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|stat3value=1,174
|stat3value=1,174
|teams=
|teams=
* [[Baltimore Orioles#St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] ({{baseball year|1941}}–{{baseball year|1947}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles#St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1941}}–{{mlby|1947}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{baseball year|1948}}–{{baseball year|1952}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1948}}–{{mlby|1952}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{baseball year|1953}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1953}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles#St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] ({{baseball year|1953}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles#St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|1953}}–{{mlby|1955}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{baseball year|1954}}–{{baseball year|1955}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1955}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{baseball year|1955}})
|highlights=
|highlights=
* 8× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1943 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1943]]–[[1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1946]], [[1948 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1948]]–[[1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1951]])
* 8× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1943 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1943]]–[[1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1946]], [[1948 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1948]]–[[1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1951]])
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* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
}}
}}
'''Vernon Decatur Stephens''' (October 23, 1920 – November 4, 1968) was an American professional [[baseball]] player. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] as a [[shortstop]] from {{By|1941}} through {{By|1955}}.<ref name="Vern Stephens statistics">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stephve01.shtml |title=Vern Stephens statistics |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=November 16, 2019}}</ref> An eight-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]], Stephens was notable for being the {{mlby|1945}} American League home run champion and was a three-time American League [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|RBI champion]].<ref name="The Baseball Biography Project: Vern Stephens">{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/3442ca21|title=The Baseball Biography Project: Vern Stephens|last=Armour|first=Mark|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=November 16, 2019}}</ref> He was the [[cleanup hitter]] for the only [[St. Louis Browns]] team to win an [[List of American League pennant winners|American League pennant]] in {{By|1944}}, and was a top [[power hitter]] for the [[Boston Red Sox]]. Nicknamed "Little Slug", "Junior", and "Buster", Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was inducted into the [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]] in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/redsox/history/red-sox-hall-of-fame |title=Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame members |work=mlb.com |access-date=November 17, 2019}}</ref>
'''Vernon Decatur Stephens''' (October 23, 1920 – November 3, 1968) was an American [[shortstop]] in [[professional baseball]] who played 15 seasons in the [[American League]] for four different teams. A native of [[McAlister, New Mexico]], Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was also nicknamed "Pop-up Stephens", "Junior", and "Buster".


==Career==
==Baseball career==
[[File:Pitching in to stop the Axis short, shortstop Vernie Stephens 8b08245v (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Stephens working in a shipyard during [[World War II]].]]
⚫
One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 [[batting average]] with 247 [[home run]]s and 1174 [[run batted in|RBI]] in 1720 games. Breaking with American Major League baseball, Stephens signed a five-year contract with the [[Mexican League]] in 1946. He had been in Mexico only a few days when his father, a minor league umpire, and the Browns scout Jack Fournier drove down and brought him back to the United States.
Stephens was born in [[McAlister, New Mexico]] while his parents were en route from Oklahoma to California.<ref name="The Baseball Biography Project: Vern Stephens" /> He attended [[Long Beach Polytechnic High School]] in [[Long Beach, California]].<ref name="The Baseball Biography Project: Vern Stephens" />


⚫
One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] with 247 [[home run]]s and 1,174 [[run batted in|RBI]] in 1,720 games. In 1944, Stephens led the American League with 109 runs batted in as he led the Browns to their first and only [[1944 World Series|World Series appearance]] in St. Louis. He also led the league with 24 home runs in 1945.
⚫
In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2009|2009]].

Amid a salary dispute with the Browns, Stephens signed a five-year contract with the [[Azules de Veracruz]] of the [[Mexican League]] in [[1946 Mexican League season|1946]]. He played in two games for Veracruz, with one single in eight at bats, before deciding to return to the United States; his father, a minor league umpire, and the Browns scout Jack Fournier drove down and brought him across the border. Stephens' departure infuriated Mexican League president (and Azules owner) [[Jorge Pasquel]], but it saved him from the five-year suspension that [[Commissioner of Baseball]] [[Happy Chandler]] levied on the other major leaguers who "jumped" to Mexico.

After the 1947 season, he was traded along with [[Jack Kramer]] to the Boston Red Sox, but later, after a brief stint with the [[Chicago White Sox]], returned to the Browns in 1953, their last season in St. Louis. Stephens was the only member of the pennant-winning 1944 St. Louis Browns who played with the Baltimore Orioles when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954.

Stephens played five years with the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to 1952. [[Ted Williams]] said that he was the most effective of those who followed him in the batting order. In 1949 he batted in 159 runs (tied with Williams for the league lead) and hit 39 home runs, second only to Williams's 43. No other player in the American League had more than 24. Second baseman [[Bobby Doerr]], who was lionized in David Halberstam's book ''Summer of '49'', hit 18 home runs.
⚫
In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2009|2009]]. He was not selected.


==Death==
==Death==
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* Three times led the American League in RBI (1944, 1949–50)
* Three times led the American League in RBI (1944, 1949–50)
* Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50)
* Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50)
* Three times in the Top 10 in [[batting average]] (1942–43, 1946)
* Three times in the Top 10 in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (1942–43, 1946)
* Twice led the American League in [[games played]] (1948–49)
* Twice led the American League in [[games played]] (1948–49)
* Was inducted into the [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]] in 2006
* Was inducted into the [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]] in 2006
* Only man to play for 1944 American League Champion [[St. Louis Browns]] and the [[Baltimore Orioles]], the team the Browns franchise became after it moved to Baltimore in 1954
* Only man to play for the 1944 American League Champion [[St. Louis Browns]] and the [[Baltimore Orioles]], the team the Browns franchise became after it moved to Baltimore in 1954
* Holds the MLB record for RBI in a season by a shortstop, with 159 in 1949.
* Holds the MLB record for RBI in a season by a shortstop, with 159 in 1949
* Became the first shortstop to hit 30 home runs in a season, with 39 in 1949
* Attended Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California (also attended by Tony Gwynn, Chase Utley, Milton Bradley, etc.)
* Attended Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California (also attended by Tony Gwynn, Chase Utley, Milton Bradley, etc.)


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* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=122749|espn=18054|br=s/stephve01}}
{{Baseballstats|mlb=122749|espn=18054|br=s/stephve01}}
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=stephve01 Baseball Almanac]
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=stephve01 Baseball Almanac]
*{{Find a Grave|6700144}}
*{{Find a Grave}}


{{AL home run champions}}
{{AL home run champions}}
{{AL RBI champions}}
{{AL RBI champions}}
{{Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame}}
{{Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Vern}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Vern}}
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[[Category:1920 births]]
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[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League home run champions]]
[[Category:American League home run champions]]
[[Category:American League RBI champions]]
[[Category:American League RBI champions]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Long Beach, California]]
[[Category:Baseball players from New Mexico]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Long Beach)]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Browns players]]
[[Category:Johnstown Johnnies players]]
[[Category:Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball shortstops]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball shortstops]]
[[Category:Baseball players from New Mexico]]
[[Category:Mayfield Browns players]]
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[[Category:1920 births]]
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[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Quay County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:People from Quay County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:St. Louis Browns players]]
[[Category:San Antonio Missions players]]
[[Category:Springfield Browns players]]
[[Category:Toledo Mud Hens players]]
[[Category:Azules de Veracruz players]]

Latest revision as of 02:37, 12 July 2024

Vern Stephens
Shortstop
Born: (1920-10-23)October 23, 1920
McAlister, New Mexico, U.S.
Died: November 4, 1968(1968-11-04) (aged 48)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 13, 1941, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
June 30, 1955, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.286
Home runs247
Runs batted in1,174
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 4, 1968) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1941 through 1955.[1] An eight-time All-Star, Stephens was notable for being the 1945 American League home run champion and was a three-time American League RBI champion.[2] He was the cleanup hitter for the only St. Louis Browns team to win an American League pennant in 1944, and was a top power hitter for the Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed "Little Slug", "Junior", and "Buster", Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006.[3]

Baseball career

[edit]
Stephens working in a shipyard during World War II.

Stephens was born in McAlister, New Mexico while his parents were en route from Oklahoma to California.[2] He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California.[2]

One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 batting average with 247 home runs and 1,174 RBI in 1,720 games. In 1944, Stephens led the American League with 109 runs batted in as he led the Browns to their first and only World Series appearance in St. Louis. He also led the league with 24 home runs in 1945.

Amid a salary dispute with the Browns, Stephens signed a five-year contract with the Azules de Veracruz of the Mexican League in 1946. He played in two games for Veracruz, with one single in eight at bats, before deciding to return to the United States; his father, a minor league umpire, and the Browns scout Jack Fournier drove down and brought him across the border. Stephens' departure infuriated Mexican League president (and Azules owner) Jorge Pasquel, but it saved him from the five-year suspension that Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler levied on the other major leaguers who "jumped" to Mexico.

After the 1947 season, he was traded along with Jack Kramer to the Boston Red Sox, but later, after a brief stint with the Chicago White Sox, returned to the Browns in 1953, their last season in St. Louis. Stephens was the only member of the pennant-winning 1944 St. Louis Browns who played with the Baltimore Orioles when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954.

Stephens played five years with the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to 1952. Ted Williams said that he was the most effective of those who followed him in the batting order. In 1949 he batted in 159 runs (tied with Williams for the league lead) and hit 39 home runs, second only to Williams's 43. No other player in the American League had more than 24. Second baseman Bobby Doerr, who was lionized in David Halberstam's book Summer of '49, hit 18 home runs. In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. He was not selected.

Death

[edit]

Vern Stephens died of a heart attack in Long Beach, California at 48 years of age.

Highlights

[edit]
  • 8-time All-Star (1943–44, 1945 [non-official game], 1946, 1948–51)
  • Six times in the Top 10 in MVP voting (1942–45, 1948–49)
  • Led the American League in home runs during 1945
  • Three times led the American League in RBI (1944, 1949–50)
  • Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50)
  • Three times in the Top 10 in batting average (1942–43, 1946)
  • Twice led the American League in games played (1948–49)
  • Was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006
  • Only man to play for the 1944 American League Champion St. Louis Browns and the Baltimore Orioles, the team the Browns franchise became after it moved to Baltimore in 1954
  • Holds the MLB record for RBI in a season by a shortstop, with 159 in 1949
  • Became the first shortstop to hit 30 home runs in a season, with 39 in 1949
  • Attended Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California (also attended by Tony Gwynn, Chase Utley, Milton Bradley, etc.)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Vern Stephens statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Armour, Mark. "The Baseball Biography Project: Vern Stephens". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  3. ^ "Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame members". mlb.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
[edit]
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