The Sports Xchange
Skowro, 81,was at his best during World Series
Bill “Moose” Skowron, the popular New York Yankees first baseman of the 1950s and ’60s, died Thursday night after a long battle with lung cancer.
He was 81.
Skowron, who died of congestive heart failure as a result of the cancer, was a four-time all-star and was the Yankees’ starting first baseman from 1955-62.
The former football fullback and punter for Purdue University signed with the Yankees in 1951 for a $25,000 bonus. He went on to have a .282 batting average, hitting 211 home runs with 888 RBIs.
Skowron’s greatest moments with the Yankees were during the postseason. In eight World Series, he hit .293 with eight homers and 29 RBIs in 39 games.
In Game 7 of the 1956 World Series, he hit a seventh-inning grand slam after going hitless in the first six games. Two years later, he singled home the winning run in the 10th inning of Game 6 to force a seventh game. He followed that with an eight-inning three-run homer in a victory in Game 7 as the Yankees came back from 3-1 series deficit.
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