Baseball, in many cases, can serve as a very effective microcosm for the world and the country it inhabits. From social progression, justice, or the dawn of the information age, baseball has often travelled right along with the world surrounding it. Looking back, that means we can find stories that are nearly impossible to imagine in the modern world, a description the would fit that of Johnny Sturm quite well.
Born in 1916, Sturm played a mostly full season in his rookie campaign with the Yankees,
and would never again play on a major league field after. It was due to circumstances mostly out of his control, in an unfortunate story, as Sturm’s Yankee tenure would last just a single year. His performance on its own was unimpressive, but Sturm stands as in interesting landmark for a time that feels long gone.
Johnny Sturm
Born: January 23, 1916 (St. Louis, MO)
Died: October 8, 2004 (St. Louis, MO)
Yankees Tenure: 1941
Johnny Sturm grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began his professional career in the minor leagues in 1936. After five seasons at various levels in the Yankees’ organization, Sturm would finally get his chance with the big club in 1941. In the post-Lou Gehrig era, the team had struggled to fill the impossibly large void. Babe Dahlgren, who replaced Gehrig, was sent to Boston after the 1940 season, which prompted another change at the position. The Yankees first moved Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Gordon over to first, though it was a move that proved ineffective.
The Yankees eventually moved Gordon back to second, opening a spot for Sturm at first base. The club had struggled out of the gate, and likely hoped the move would help them take a step forward. Incidentally, the day the Yankees slid Sturm into the lineup was also the day Joe DiMaggio began his record-setting hitting streak.
On the whole, Sturm’s performance at the plate during the ‘41 season left plenty to be desired. The Yankee first baseman slashed .239/.293/.300 for just a 58 OPS+ in his rookie season. But, the season didn’t come without its bright spots. In June of ‘41, Sturm belted a two-run homer in the second game of a double-header, which kickstarted a run of 40 home runs in 25 games for the Bombers as a squad.
He also played a role in the World Series that year. Sturm went 6-for-21 in the five games, pitching in with a pair of RBI in the victorious Fall Classic effort for New York. It wasn’t the flashiest of campaigns, but doing his part for a winning World Series squad is certainly something on its own.
The offseason that followed was an eventful one for Sturm. He was married shortly after the successful World Series, and not long after, with the United States then fully entrenched in World War II, Sturm enlisted in the military. He was stationed at a base in Missouri and, fittingly, assumed the duty of building baseball fields and managing the post’s baseball team.
Sturm was obviously away from the team on Opening Day the following year, when his career took a turn for the worse. While operating a tractor, he made an ill-fated move which ultimately caused the amputation of the tip of his index finger on his right arm.
Post-recovery, Sturm served until November of 1945, stationed overseas for the latter part of his service. He attempted to make a return to professional baseball in 1946, with plenty of factors working against him. Having missed four seasons of play, and now playing with a significantly altered right hand, it was an uphill battle for Sturm.
Now 30 years old, Sturm had trouble reacclimating, and was unable to reclaim his former spot, and was forced to toil in the minor leagues. He remained in the Yankees organization through the 1949 season, eventually as a player-manager for the Joplin Miners (and actually putting up some solid numbers).
That would be the end of professional baseball for Sturm, however, as the missed time and injury trouble were too much to overcome for the first baseman. It was a stint with the Yankees cut too short by unfortunate circumstances, and it creates an interesting looking resume, as he was the last of just six players in MLB history to have 500-plus plate appearances in their lone season. A career like Sturm’s feels like something that only could have happened in the past, and serves as an interesting piece of baseball history.
Despite his turbulent experience in professional baseball, Sturm lived to be 88 years old. Born on this day in 1916, his story is one of a kind in Yankees history.
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