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Every modern baseball historian has heard the name Pete Vuckovich. A right-handed pitcher with a distinctive moustache and even more distinctive personality on the mound, Vuckovich holds a number of accolades that will cement his place in the history books. He led the American League (AL) in wins in 1981 and won the 1982 AL Cy Young award, awarded each season to the best pitcher in each league. He also recorded the first shutout and the first save in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays' franchise. And as a small-town boy turned big-league star, his story is the stuff of dreams for little leaguers everywhere.
Vuckovich first stepped onto the baseball diamond at Clarion University in 1971 (then Clarion State College), after a successful high school career in his hometown of Johnstown, PA. A fierce competitor and self-proclaimed "confident young man," he was eager to help his team defeat its competition, and optimistic that his success would lead to a shot at playing baseball professionally.
Months prior, he'd told head coach Joe Knowles he could "play anywhere except catcher." In high school, Vuckovich had spent a good deal of time on the pitcher's mound, filling in across the infield when needed.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but I was cocky back then," Vuckovich said. "Coach Knowles said I'd play second base--the position I had probably the least experience with."
In the early games of the season, a more senior second basemen took the field while Vuckovich took a seat on the bench. After watching his team lose a double-header, though, he thought, "I'm better than any guy out there." While most players might keep this thought inside, Vuckovich marched up to his coach at the next practice and voiced his opinion.
"I told him just that, and he put me in at second base the next game," he said, with a laugh.
As it turned out, Vuckovich proved himself. He was, by all accounts, a great infielder. But it was another act of confidence that set Vuckovich up for his major-league career. During batting practice, with the available pitcher resting his arm for an upcoming game, Knowles asked if anyone could pitch for the team. Vuckovich volunteered.
"The first batter I pitched to was a guy named Gary Nuss. He was an All-American hitter the year before," Vuckovich said. "I threw about three pitches to him and he starts screaming and hollering. Our coach comes running in from the outfield thinking somebody was hurt, and Nuss says, 'Coach, this is the best pitcher I've ever seen in my life.'"
Naturally, Knowles took a closer look at Vuckovich's pitching and quickly put him in the starting rotation, where he stayed for the remainder of his four years at Clarion.
Off the field, Vuckovich loved the location and the "quaintness" of the town of Clarion during his time at the university. He was also fond of Frank Lignelli, the athletic director at the time, whom Vuckovich said "was kind of like a father to me; he kept me in line."
In both classes and at baseball practice, Vuckovich admits he wasn't the easiest person to teach or coach. "I was stubborn, so it was probably hard to get through," he said. "I knew what I wanted, which was to be a ballplayer. I knew what I could do. Coach Knowles tried to change up some aspects of how I pitched, or how I batted, and I resisted."
Though he may have frustrated his coaches, Vuckovich clearly did something right. In his senior year at Clarion, he signed with the Chicago White Sox after being chosen in the third round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft. He is one of thirteen players in Clarion history to have signed an MLB contract.
In his first season with the Denver Bears, the White Sox AAA minor-league team, Vuckovich and his teammates won the championship. The following year, Vuckovich continued to shine, and the manager of the White Sox took notice.
On an off-day for the White Sox, Vuckovich said, manager Chuck Tanner was scouting his team's minor-league talent. Impressed with what he saw from Vuckovich, Tanner made him an offer.
"He said, 'You're coming with me to the majors,' Vuckovich said. "And I said, 'I don't want to go.' He was pretty surprised. He asked what I meant and said that I was the first person he'd ever heard of who didn't want a call up to the major league."
Always the competitor, Vuckovich explained to Tanner that he wanted to stay with the Bears for the AAA championship, which he believed the Bears would win again.
"He said, 'Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come back with me to the White Sox, and when the playoffs start, I'll send you back here to pitch.'" Vuckovich agreed, and Tanner kept his word. That year, Vuckovich and the Bears made it to the championship series, but lost the championship in extra innings of game seven.
While his start in the majors was unconventional, Vuckovich says that his first day at that level is one of his fondest memories of baseball.
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"I don't remember much about the first game, specifically. It was against Minnesota," he said, stating that it was the realization of his childhood ambition that made the day so special.
Over the course of his 11-year pitching career, Vuckovich played for the White Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Milwaukee Brewers, starting in multiple playoff and World Series Games. With a career record of 93-69, 882 strikeouts, and a 3.66 ERA, he fulfilled the dream inspired by his childhood heroes, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson, and Juan Marichal. In fact, early on in his career, Vuckovich tried to emulate Marichal's pitching style, and was once compared to the Giants right-hander in an article.
"I haven't kept many things from my playing days, but I clipped that article out of the newspaper and kept it," he said.
Vuckovich's passion for the game didn't fade when his playing days ended. Since retiring in 1986, he has served as a color commentary announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers, a pitching scout and coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and special assistant to the general manager of the Seattle Mariners. He was even involved in a Hollywood version of baseball, playing the Yankees slugging first-baseman Clu Haywood in the 1989 film "Major League."
"Baseball is what I love. It's what I do," he said.
Throughout his years on the road with various teams, Vuckovich has almost always kept a home in Johnstown.
"It's home. It's where I grew up, and where my wife and I met. Even when I was playing, in the offseason we always came home to Johnstown," he said.
It was in Johnstown that Vuckovich and his wife Anna raised their three children, Louis, Pete Jr., and Damian. Pete Jr. is a Clarion graduate who, like his father, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox after a successful collegiate career. Though his professional run was cut short by an injury, he is now a lawyer, which Vuckovich raises as a testament to Clarion's academic prowess.
"I think Clarion can provide anyone any opportunity they want if they're willing to work for it and apply themselves," he said. "I got a great education, even though, I'll admit, I was more focused on being a ballplayer."
A member of both the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Vuckovich was recently honored by the Pirates' AA affiliate, the Altoona Curve during "Pete Vuckovich Bobblehead Night." The first 1,500 fans in attendance received a bobblehead designed to reflect Vuckovich's Clarion days, a tribute to his local roots and his time with the Pirates.
"It was an honor to be a part of that night," he said. During the evening's festivities, Vuckovich threw out the night's first pitch and was interviewed on-field by the Curve's general manager Rob Egan. He was also reunited with Frank Lignelli, with whom he watched the game.
Vuckovich is now back home in Johnstown, keeping an eye out for his next venture.
"Baseball has been my whole life," he said. "It's what I know, and I know it better than most. If an opportunity comes my way, I might take it. Otherwise, I'm happy being a retiree."