Jack Damaska had one of the
shortest major league baseball careers of any Beaver County athlete,
but he also had one of the longest professional careers: 17 years as
a minor league player and manager from 1957 to 1974. His brief fling
as a major leaguer came in 1963 when the St Louis Cardinals called
him up from their Atlanta team in the AAA International League to
replace a player on the 30 day disabled list. Jack went to bat only
five times that month and played only three innings, one in left
field and
two at second base. But in his very short major league career he
played with and against some of the most famous players in the game.
In fact, Jack’s major league stint was a masterpiece of bad
timing: his first time at bat was a strikeout against Sandy Koufax,
and the first time he got into a game on defense it was as a
substitute for Stan Musial. One day he replaced Julian Javier in a
Cardinal infield that featured Boyer, Groat, and White. Jack
collected one hit and scored one run during his short stint with the
Cards. After a long minor league career as a player, coach, and
manager, Jack finished his baseball years in 1974 as manager of
the Kinston (SC) team in the Montreal Expos farm system.
Jack Damaska had one of the
shortest major league baseball careers of any Beaver County athlete,
but he also had one of the longest professional careers: 17 years as
a minor league player and manager from 1957 to 1974. His brief fling
as a major leaguer came in 1963 when the St Louis Cardinals called
him up from their Atlanta team in the AAA International League to
replace a player on the 30 day disabled list. Jack went to bat only
five times that month and played only three innings, one in left
field and
two at second base. But in his very short major league career he
played with and against some of the most famous players in the game.
In fact, Jack’s major league stint was a masterpiece of bad
timing: his first time at bat was a strikeout against Sandy Koufax,
and the first time he got into a game on defense it was as a
substitute for Stan Musial. One day he replaced Julian Javier in a
Cardinal infield that featured Boyer, Groat, and White. Jack
collected one hit and scored one run during his short stint with the
Cards. After a long minor league career as a player, coach, and
manager, Jack finished his baseball years in 1974 as manager of
the Kinston (SC) team in the Montreal Expos farm system.