A Baseball Legend Passes: Mickey Vernon Remembered

In an age where money and social status drive popularity, Mickey Vernon would not have been considered your typical athlete.

Widely recognized as one of the top ballplayers of the 1940s, the Delaware County native mixed charm and good nature with outstanding talent and was recently named one of 10 finalists being considered for induction into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Veterans Committee in December.

If selected, the honor will have to be awarded posthumously, though, as the 90-year-old Vernon, who finished his 20-year big-league career with a .286 lifetime average, passed away last week at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Delaware County after suffering a stroke.

“What I think I’ll remember most about Mickey is what a quality person he was,” said Jim Vankoski, chairman of the Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame. “He was a role model, a true gentleman, someone you can embrace. His baseball accomplishments are really secondary against what Mickey was as a person.”

Vernon began his playing career in 1939 and spent nearly 14 of his 20 seasons with the Washington Senators as a first baseman. He also played with the Red Sox, Indians, Braves and Pirates. He was recognized as an All-Star seven times and won a pair of American League batting titles in 1946 (.353) and 1953 (.337).

Vernon finished his career with 172 home runs and 1,311 RBI in 2,408 major-league games. He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons because of military service with the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II.

Though Vernon never appeared in a postseason game, he did work as a first-base coach and played in nine regular season games in 1960 for the Pirates, who went on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series.

“He was this county’s role model, an example of how someone should act,” Vankoski said. “If you wanted to know how to do something, all you had to do was ask yourself how would Mickey have done it.”

Vernon returned to Washington in 1961 and managed the Senators for two-plus seasons and amassed a managerial record of 135-227. After his stint with the Senators, Vernon went on to coach and scout with several organizations at varying levels before retiring from the game as a scout with the Yankees following the 1988 season.

Born in Marcus Hook, Vernon attended Villanova in 1937, but dropped out during his first year after he was recruited by the St. Louis Browns. He resided in Media.

"Being selected for the Hall of Fame would be awesome. But it wouldn't be a dream come true, because the only thing I ever dreamt was to become a major leaguer,” Vernon said in an interview with the Delco Times in 1994. “The Hall of Fame would be icing on the cake.''

(Patrick Gordon is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia and is managing editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review. Contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com)

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