Maurice Van Robays

Maurice Rene Van Robays (1916–1965), nicknamed 'Bomber,' was an American outfielder who played six seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1939 and 1946. He stood 6 feet tall, weighed 190 pounds, and batted and threw right-handed. After batting .320 in 1939 with the Montreal Royals of the International League, he made his major league debut on September 7 of that year. In 1940 he appeared in a career-high 145 games, batting .273 with 11 home runs and 116 runs batted in, the third-highest runs-batted-in total in the National League that season. Van Robays is credited with naming the 'eephus pitch,' the high, arching lob thrown by teammate Rip Sewell. He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the United States Army, and in 1946 played 59 games in his final major league action, batting .212. He died of pneumonia in March 1965 at age 50. His career fell within the prewar and wartime years of the National League.