{{Short description|American baseball player (1924–2017)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Ed Mierkowicz |position=Leftfielder |image=Ed Mierkowicz.jpeg |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1924|3|6}} |birth_place=Wyandotte, Michigan, U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|2017|5|19|1924|3|6}} |death_place=Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=August 31 |debutyear=1945 |debutteam=Detroit Tigers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=April 19 |finalyear=1950 |finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.175 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=1 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=4 |teams= *Detroit Tigers ({{mlby|1945}}, {{mlby|1947}}–{{mlby|1948}}) *St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|1950}}) |highlights= *World Series champion ({{wsy|1945}})}}'''Edward Frank Mierkowicz''' (March 6, 1924 – May 19, 2017), nicknamed "'''Mouse'''," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1950 as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Mierkowicz was a member of the world champion 1945 Detroit Tigers team.
==Early life== Mierkowicz was born in Wyandotte, Michigan,<ref name=BR>{{cite web|title=Ed Mierkowicz|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=November 4, 2023|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mierked01.shtml}}</ref> the son of a factory worker.<ref name=Bak/> He lettered in three sports at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte. He played center for the basketball team and led them to the Michigan state finals. He also led the football team to a state championship. As a first baseman for the baseball team, he hit more home runs than any player in school history.<ref name=Wy>{{cite news|title=Tigers Sign Ed. Mierkowicz: Traded From Buffalo Team|newspaper=The Wyandotte News-Herald|date=March 8, 1945|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wyandotte-news-herald-tigers-sign-ed/134591042/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Mierkowicz is the Difference: Cager Who Became Eligible is Spark|newspaper=The Daily Monitor|date=February 26, 1942|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-monitor-leader-mierkowicz-is-t/134610124/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wyandotte '5' Whips Bathers|newspaper=Monitor-Leader|date=March 6, 1943|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-monitor-leader-mierkowicz/134610351/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
He was friends as a child with Bob Kuzava who went on to pitch for the New York Yankees.<ref>{{cite news|title=A member of 1945 Tigers pulling for Cubs this time|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=November 3, 2015|page=C3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-a-member-of-194/134583507/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
In 1943, Mierkowicz was inducted into the Army. Mierkowicz was discharged after contracting rheumatic fever.<ref name=Bak>{{cite book|author=Richard Bak|title=Cobb Would Have Caught It: The Golden Age of Baseball in Detroit|publisher=Wayne State Univ. Press|year=1991}}(Chapter 18 "Ed Mierkowicz")</ref>
==Professional baseball== ===Minor leagues (1944–1945)=== In February 1944, Mierkowicz was signed by Wish Egan for the Detroit Tigers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wyandotte High Boy Signed by Tigers|newspaper=The Detroit Evening Ties|date=February 6, 1944|page=13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-evening-times-mierkowicz/134590485/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Herd Roster Raised to 35 by Signing of 3 4-F Ball Players|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|author=Cy Kritzer|date=February 3, 1944|page=19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-herd-roster-raised-to-3/134590293/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was assigned to the Buffalo Bisons who in turn optioned him to the Hagerstown Owls of the Inter-State League. He appeared in 139 games for Hagerstown during the 1944 season, appearing in 139 games and compiling a .331 batting average with 90 hits, 44 extra-base hits, and 94 RBIs.<ref name=BRM>{{cite web|title=Ed Mierckowicz Minor League Statistics|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=November 3, 2023|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mierko001edw}}</ref>
Mierkowicz spent most of the 1945 season with the Buffalo Bisons. He appeared in 131 games for Buffalo, compiled a .303 batting average, scored 91 runs and tallied 67 extra-base hits, 23 home runs, and 94 RBIs.<ref name=BRM/>
===Detroit Tigers (1945)=== Mierkowicz was called up by the Detroit Tigers in late August 1945. He collected his first major-league hit on September 11 at Fenway Park in Boston; he hit a double in the ninth inning that scored Rudy York with the game-winning run.<ref>{{cite news|title=Detroit Wins 2d for Split|newspaper=Detroit Evening Times|author=Leo MacDonnell|date=September 12, 1945|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-evening-times-detroit-wins-2d-fo/134591637/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He played in 10 games in 1945, tallying two hits, a walk and two RBIs in 15 at bats.
The Tigers won the American League pennant and defeated the Chicago Cubs in the 1945 World Series. Mierkowicz appeared as a defensive replacement for Hank Greenberg in the ninth inning of Game 7.<ref name=fan>{{cite news|title=Cubs Fan - Now|author=Trister, Noah|date=November 3, 2016|newspaper=New York Post|page=76}}</ref> Mierkowicz did not bat in the Series but he received a World Series ring in his rookie season.<ref name=fan/>
===1946 to 1950 seasons=== In 1946, Mierkowicz spent most of the season in the minor leagues with Buffalo, but he did play in 21 games with the Tigers, batting .190. In 1948, he appeared in 3 games.
He finished his major-league career on April 19, 1950, with the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out in his one and only at bat for the Cardinals.
===Minor leagues (1951–1957)=== Mierkowicz continued to play in the minor leagues from 1951 to 1957. He played for the Rochester Red Wings during the 1949, 1950, 1951, and 1953 seasons. He also had stints with the Houston Buffaloes (1952), Richmond Virginians (1954)Syracuse Chiefs (1954-1955), Sacramento Solons (1955), and Buffalo Bisons (1956). He concluded his career in 1957 with the San Antonio Missions, appearing in 99 games and compiling a .262 batting average.<ref name=BRM/>
He said his major-league career "was like a cup of coffee but no cream" but added that "God gave me the ability to play ball. Made a pretty good living. We didn't make a lot of money, but it was a lot of fun."<ref name=fan/>
==Later life== After his playing career ended, Mierkowicz lived in Wayne County, Michigan, working at a bar and as a mechanic and machinist.<ref name=CT/> He also worked for 24 years at a waste treatment plant in Wyandotte, Michigan. He retired in 1984.<ref name=Bak/> Interviewed in 2016, he recalled that he had "just lived a normal life."<ref name=CT/> He lived for most of his later years in Grosse Ile, Michigan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Old-Timer from Wyandotte once played for Detroit|newspaper=Downriver Sunday Times|date=March 31, 2014|url=https://www.downriversundaytimes.com/2013/03/31/old-timer-from-wyandotte-once-played-for-detroit/}}</ref>
Mierkowicz fell at his apartment in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in February 2016, injuring his hip, leg and foot.<ref name=CT>{{cite news|title=A Tiger's tale: Sole survivor of Cubs' last World Series|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|author=Patrick M. O'Connell|date=February 24, 2016|pages=1, 7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-a-tigers-tale-sole-sur/134582604/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Following the injury, he gained press attention as the last surviving member for the 1945 Detroit Tigers.<ref name=CT/><ref>{{cite news|author=Tom Gage|title=Tigers 1945 World Series: One play, One Ring|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=February 17, 2015}}</ref> After his release from the hospital, he stayed at a rehabilitation facility in Troy, Michigan. He fell and broke his hip for a second time and was placed in a nursing center in West Bloomfield, Michigan.<ref name=NH/> He died on May 19, 2017.<ref name=NH>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenewsherald.com/2017/05/19/ed-mierkowicz-last-living-member-of-the-detroit-tigers-1945-world-series-championship-team-dies/ |title=Ed Mierkowicz: Last living member of the Detroit Tigers' 1945 World Series championship team dies |newspaper=News-Herald|author=David Dyer|date=May 19, 2017}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{1945 Detroit Tigers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mierkowicz, Ed}} Category:1924 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Sportspeople from Wyandotte, Michigan Category:Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Category:Military personnel from Wayne County, Michigan Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Columbus Jets players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Hagerstown Owls players Category:Houston Buffaloes players Category:Little Rock Travelers players Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Miami Marlins (International League) players Category:Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Category:Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Sacramento Solons players Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:San Antonio Missions players Category:Seattle Rainiers players Category:Syracuse Chiefs players Category:Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico