Vince Stukoski
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | April 5, 1925 Plymouth, PA |
| Date and Place of Death: | December 23, 1959 Wilkes-Barre, PA |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Private |
| Military Unit: | 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Vincent Stukoski, the son of Walter and Mary
Stukoski, was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, on April 5, 1925. His father
died when he was three months and his mother later married Stanley
Rydzewski, a miner
who died in 1944.
As well as playing football and basketball,
Stukoski was an outstanding pitcher at Swoyerville High School, hurling
three
no-hitters, and was signed by the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Class A
Eastern League, pitching his first professional game two days after
graduation in 1943. Stukoski had a strong rookie year, making 20
appearances (17 as a starter) and was 10-7 with a 3.45 ERA. After the
season ended, Stukoski entered military service, reporting to New
Cumberland Reception Center on October 4.
Private Stukoski served overseas for 11 months as a rifleman with the
128th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division, and was seriously
wounded during the bitter fighting on Leyte, in the Philippine islands.
A Japanese bullet struck him in the neck and damaged a nerve. His left
leg and both arms were left paralyzed. After receiving first aid,
Stukoski was given further treatment behind the lines before being
evacuated from the area. In March 1945, he was presented with the Purple
Heart by Major General Frederick Gilbreath, commanding general of the
South Pacific Base Command. Shortly afterwards, he was flown to the
United States for treatment at the Thomas M. England General Hospital in
Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Stukoski was still at the hospital in April 1946. His right arm showed
signs of improvement, but his pitching arm remained paralyzed.
In 1948, Stukoski was presented with a lifetime pass to all major and
minor league games. George M. Trautman, president of the National
Association of Professional Baseball Clubs announced in May of that
year, that passes would be made available to "all players whose careers
were ended because of injuries or illness received in the line of duty."
In April 1949, Stukoski was invited to throw out the first ball at the
Wilkes-Barre Barons home opener. Vince Stukoski never recovered from his
wounds. He was just 34 years old when he died at Wilkes-Barre Veterans
Hospital on December 23, 1959. He is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in
Carverton, Pennsylvania.
Date Added January 28, 2018. Updated May 22, 2020.
Can you add more information to this biography and help make it the best online resource for this player? Contact us by email
Read Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice Through The Years - an online year-by-year account of military related deaths of ballplayers
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is associated with Baseball Almanac
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is proud to be sponsored by
