Gil McDougald

Gilbert James McDougald (May 19, 1928 – November 28, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the New York Yankees from 1951 through 1960. Born in San Francisco, he was the younger of two sons of William James McDougald and the former Ella McGuire. He attended Commerce High School, where he was an All-City basketball player but did not make the varsity baseball team until his senior year. After graduating in 1946, he attended City College of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco, and played with the Bayside Braves, a Boston Braves feeder team, where he adopted the unorthodox but effective batting stance for which he became known.

The Yankees signed him in the spring of 1948, and he played for various minor league teams before being promoted to the majors. McDougald was named the 1951 American League Rookie of the Year. Over his career he was selected as an All-Star for five seasons and was a member of eight American League pennant-winning teams and five World Series champion teams. In a 1957 game at Municipal Stadium, he hit a line drive that severely injured pitcher Herb Score's right eye. McDougald spent his entire ten-year major league career with the Yankees, retiring after the 1960 season.