Dick Kokos

Dick Kokos, born Richard Jerome Kokoszka (1928-1986), was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns and, after the franchise relocated, the Baltimore Orioles. He made his major league debut at age 20 on July 8, 1948, and played through 1950 before joining the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He returned to the majors in 1953, but his hitting declined from its earlier level, and he was released following the 1954 season. Over a five-year, 475-game career he batted .263 with 59 home runs, 223 runs batted in, and 239 runs scored, with a .365 on-base percentage and a .441 slugging percentage. On September 5, 1953, he led off the bottom of the twelfth inning with a home run to give the Browns a 1-0 win over the Detroit Tigers, noted as the first time an American League 1-0 extra-inning game was decided by a home run.