Steve Bilko

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#1c2841
bgcolor2=#6d7380
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Steve Bilko

---

width=256
position=First baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=November 13, 1928,
deathdate=death date and age|1978|3|7|1928|11|13
debutdate=September 22
debutyear=1949
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=August 14
finalyear=1962
finalteam=Los Angeles Angels
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.249
stat2label=HR
stat2value=76
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=276
teams=
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|1949-by|1954)
*Chicago Cubs (by|1954)
*Cincinnati Reds (by|1958)
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1958)
*Detroit Tigers (by|1960)
*Los Angeles Angels (by|1961-by|1962)
highlights=;Notable achievements
* Only 20 years old when he broke into Major League Baseball

Stephen Thomas Bilko (November 13, 1928, Nanticoke, Pennsylvania - March 7, 1978), was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Biography

Career

He was a home run-hitting first baseman of the 1950s and early 1960s who enjoyed his greatest fame with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from by|1955–by|1957. His greatest year came in 1956 when he won the PCL's Triple Crown with a .360 batting average, 55 home runs, and 164 RBIs.

He also played for several major league teams, including the Los Angeles Angels of the American League in 1961 and 1962, but never enjoyed the success that he had with the PCL Angels in the 1950s. As an original LA Angel (American League version), he became the first player to play for both the L.A. Dodgers and the American League L.A. Angels.

He was nicknamed "Stout Steve" during his career because of his ample girth.

During his brief stay with the Cubs, announcer Bert Wilson placed Bilko at the end of what he hoped would be a soon-to-be-famous double play combination of Ernie Banks, Gene Baker and Steve Bilko. His name for that trio was "Bingo to Bango to Bilko".

External links

* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Bilko.Steve.Obit.html The Deadball Era]