- Johnny Miljus
Infobox MLB retired
name=Johnny Miljus
position=Pitcher
bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=June 30 ,1895
deathdate=death date and age|1976|2|11|1895|6|30
debutdate=October 2
debutyear= 1915
debutteam=Pittsburgh Rebels
finaldate=September 25
finalyear=1929
finalteam=Cleveland Indians
stat1label=Pitching record
stat1value=29-26
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.92
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=166
teams=
*Pittsburgh Rebels (1915)
* Brooklyn Robins (1917, 1920-1921)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (1927-1928)
*Cleveland Indians (1928-1929)
highlights=
* 1927 National League PennantJohn Kenneth (Johnny) Miljus (
Serbian Cyrillic Џон Кенет Миљуш or Serbian Latin "Džon Kenet Miljuš") (June 30 ,1895 -February 11 ,1976 ) nicknamed Big Serb and Jovo, wasSerbian-American baseball player who pitched inMajor League Baseball between by|1915 and by|1929. Miljus batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania .Miljus served in the
United States Army duringWorld War I , inFrance , as part of the 320th Infantry. His wartime bunkmate was Joe Harris. Ironically, the two of them would later be reunited as members of thePittsburgh Pirates . Miljus was wounded in action and was to be sent home. Instead of heading home, he chose to rejoin his unit after leaving the hospital.After toiling in the minors, this lanky 6'1" 178 pounder spent six seasons in the major leagues as a pitcher. Miljus reached the majors in 1915 with the
Pittsburgh Rebels of the outlawFederal League , spending one year with them before moving to the Brooklyn Robins (NL, 1920-21),Pittsburgh Pirates (NL, 1927-28) andCleveland Indians (AL, 1929). More than a dependable pitcher, he filled several roles coming out from thebullpen as a closer or a middle reliever, and as an occasional starter as well. Unfortunately, Miljus is probably best remembered as the pitcher who served a ninth-inningwild pitch that escaped Pirates'catcher Johnny Gooch and allowed theNew York Yankees to sweep the1927 World Series . In Game Four, after striking outLou Gehrig andBob Meusel , and with two strikes onTony Lazzeri , the next Miljus' pitch rolled far enough away forEarle Combs to score the winning run. In a seven-season career, Miljus posted a 29-26 record with 166 strikeouts and a 3.92 ERA in 457 ⅓innings pitched , including 45 starts, 15complete games , twoshutout s, and five saves. Miljus died in Fort Harrison,Montana , at the age of 80.As of by|2006, Miljus has one of the lowest ERA (3.92) of any major league pitcher coming out of
University of Pittsburgh with more than 100 innings, behind Bob Malloy (3.26),Doc Medich (3.77) andSteve Swetonic (3.81).External links
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/chronology/1927OCTOBER.stm#day8 Baseball Chronology]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/miljujo01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.serbworldusa.com/MILJUS.html Miljus' biography at serbworldusa.com]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.