Ray Sadecki

Ray Sadecki was born in the Polish Hill section of Kansas City.  As a senior at Bishop Ward High School, the lefthander was 18-0 and signed by St. Louis as a 17-year-old “bonus baby” in 1958.

Two years later, Sadecki was with the Cardinals and the following season joined their rotation.  Sadecki won 14 games in 1961, ten in 1963 and 20 in 1964 as the Cardinals won the World Series.

During the 1966 season, Sadecki was traded to San Francisco where he won 12 games in 1967 and 1968.  He pitched for five more teams in an 18-year career that saw him win 135 games.

In 2002, Catholic Charities named a baseball field in his honor in Kansas City.  Sadecki died in 2007 from complications of blood cancer.  He was 74.

For more, read Ray Sadecki’s Society for American Baseball Research bio.