William Skowron grew up on Chicago's Northwest Side where he excelled at all tree major sports, but he really excelled at baseball and football. Notre Dame was his favorite college and he would have gone there had Coach Frank Leahy allowed him to play baseball along with football. However, at Purdue, he could play both.
As a sophomore,he was starting right halfback and even kicked an 82-yard punt left-footed (claimed it got a good roll). The same year he hit a Big Ten record .500 for coach Hank Stram.
The Yankees offered him a $25,000 signing bonus and Moose took the dough. His rookie year, in 1954, Skowron made $6,000. In his 14-year major league career with the Yankees, Dodgers, Senators, White Sox and Angels, he grossed less than $600,000.
The Yankees were in the process of having another run at domination while Moose was there and they were managed by none other than Casey Stengel. One time in his rookie year, Stengel removed him with bases loaded, angering Skowron, who threw his bat as he returned to the dugout.
The man who replaced him cleared the bases with a double. Stengel didn't say anything to Moose until the next day, "Then he walked up to me and said, 'Don't ever show me up again, kid. My reasons got reasons you'll never figure." Pure Casey.
Not Finished with the Moose. --DaCoot
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