page_title: Andy Pafko
section_title: Baseball career
hierarchical_section_title: Andy Pafko / Baseball career
caption_attribution_description: English: Baseball Picture Cards (cropped from the four cards shown in the link) Issued by Bowman Gum Company Date: 1951 Medium: Commercial color lithography Dimensions: image: 3 1/8 x 2 1/16 in. (8 x 5.2 cm) each Classification: Prints Credit Line: The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick Accession Number: Burdick 327, R406(5b)
context_page_description: Andrew Pafko was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Milwaukee Braves. He batted and threw right-handed and played center field.
  Pafko was born in Boyceville, Wisconsin. In his 17-year MLB career, he was an All-Star for four seasons and was a .285 hitter with 213 home runs and 976 RBI, in 1852 games. In 1999, he was named to the Chicago Cubs All-Century Team.
context_section_description: In 1941, Pafko played on the Green Bay Blue Sox team in the Wisconsin State League. He had 12 home runs, 66 RBIs, while batting .349 on the team that won the league championship. He played another season in the minor leagues before debuting in the major leagues in 1943 with the Chicago Cubs.
  Nicknamed "Handy Andy", Pafko was a popular player well known for good hitting and fielding, and contributed to championship-caliber teams in three different cities.
  He played for the Chicago Cubs during their 1945 World Series appearance. After Cubs third baseman Stan Hack retired the following year, Pafko replaced him at third base long enough to be almost named an All-Star there. MLB cancelled the All-Star Game and selection that season due to the war, and the Associated Press sportswriters named Pafko as one of their All-Stars. Pafko did become a four-time consecutive All-Star from 1947 through 1950, making him one of the few players to achieve All-Star status in both the infield and outfield.
  Pafko was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in June of 1951 during the middle of the season; he was the left fielder when Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World."  Pafko returned home when he was traded to the Boston Braves before the start of the 1953 season, becoming the only Wisconsin native on the Braves roster when they arrived in Milwaukee and participating in their strong contending teams there, including the 1957 World Series champions. Pafko started in the first game at Milwaukee County Stadium on April 3, 1953. A devout Slovak Lutheran, he was an instant favorite with Milwaukee's large Eastern European community. In the mid 1950s, the Milwaukee area Lutherans had an "Andy Pafko Night" and gave him a new car.
caption: Pafko with the Cubs.
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