Ed Stevens

Edward Lee Stevens (January 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012), nicknamed 'Big Ed,' was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1945 through 1950. He batted and threw left-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch tall, and weighed 190 pounds. Stevens played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, finishing with a .252 batting average over 375 games. He was the Dodgers' incumbent first baseman entering spring training in 1947, but the club promoted Jackie Robinson to the position that season as it integrated the major leagues, and Stevens appeared in only 25 games for Brooklyn before being sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 14, 1947. He played his remaining major league seasons with the Pirates. After his playing days, Stevens worked as a coach and a scout, including a stint with the San Diego Padres during part of the 1981 season, and continued scouting until his retirement in 1989. His career bridged the final wartime seasons and the early integration era of the National League.