Barney McCosky

William Barney McCosky (April 11, 1917 - September 6, 1996) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1953, he played for the Detroit Tigers (1939–42, 1946), Philadelphia Athletics (1946–1948, 1950–1951), Cincinnati Reds (1951) and Cleveland Indians (1951–1953). McCosky batted left-handed and threw right-handed. McCosky played in 1170 games, 535 in center field and 477 in left field. He had a career batting average of .312.

Early years

McCosky was born in Coal Run, Pennsylvania, the last of nine children. His mother died when he was one year old, and McCosky moved to Detroit at age 4 with his older brother Tony McCosky. McCosky grew up in Detroit in the midst of the Great Depression. He later recalled: "Nobody had any money. We took mustard sandwiches and ketchup sandwiches to school." (Richard Bak, "Cobb Would Have Caught It: The Golden Age of Baseball in Detroit" (Wayne State 1991), p. 285.) McCosky attended Southwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, where he was All-City and captain in both baseball and basketball. McCosky had a .727 batting average his senior year—a Detroit public school record.

In 1936, McCosky was signed out of high school by scout Wish Egan. In 1936, he hit .400 for Charleston, West Virginia and led the Mid-Atlantic League his first year in professional baseball. He played next for Beaumont, Texas, and in 1939 the Tigers invited him to spring training in Lakeland, Florida. A...
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