Eddie Basinski

Edwin Frank Basinski (November 4, 1922 – January 8, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. He graduated from East High School in Buffalo. Basinski attended the University of Buffalo where he lettered in tennis and cross country (they had no baseball team). In 1943 Basinski earned a degree in mechanical engineering and went to work for the Curtiss-Wright Company in Buffalo. He played in 39 games that year with 120 plate appearances, batting .257 with 4 doubles, a triple and 9 runs batted in.

In 1945 he played in 108 games with 262 plate appearances, batting .262 with 9 doubles and 4 triples. When many players returned from the war in 1945, he was sent to the minor leagues. In December 1946 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1947 he played in 56 games with 182 plate appearances. He batted .199 but hit the first 4 home runs of his career to go along with 33 runs batted in. He retired in 1991 in Milwaukie, Oregon. Basinski died at a care facility in Gladstone on January 8, 2022, at the age of 99.