THREE WHITING PLAYERS WHO MADE THE MAJORS Johnny Mostil, Al Pilarcik, &  Steve Kraly

Frank Vargo October 2021

What does it take to be a Major League Baseball player?  Talent, skill, hard work, perseverance , good luck for you and perhaps bad luck for someone else?  Very few players who have these traits actually leave the minor leagues and make it to “The Big Show.” 

The Whiting/Robertsdale area has had three players who stayed for more than “a cup of coffee” in the majors.  It has been quite a while since these three players have dressed in a Major League uniform.  Johnny Mostil played in the 1920s, Steve Kraly in the early 1950s and Al Pilarcik in the late ‘50’s and early 1960s.  Kraly and Pilarcik were born and raised in Whiting and Mostil crossed over the border from Chicago with his family to live in Robertsdale.  All of these men had different levels of success on the baseball field, but their lives after baseball were even more noteworthy.   

JOHNNY MOSTIL

Johnny Mostil was born on June 1, 1896, on Union Avenue in Chicago.  He was the 4th child of German immigrants Casper and Barbara Mostil.  The Mostils had six children altogether.  As a young boy Johnny was very involved in baseball, either playing sandlot ball with the rest of the boys, or watching any baseball game in the neighborhood.   

One story concerned Johnny trying to sneak into Comiskey Park when he was about 10 years old.  He was caught by White Sox security staff and taken to the office of the White Sox owner Charles Comiskey,  who personally reprimanded him.  Little did either of them know that about ten years later they would both sit in that same office and Johnny Mostil would sign a Major League Baseball contract to play for the Chicago White Sox.  

After a brief time in the minors, Johnny was promoted to the majors in 1918 at the age of 22.  He only appeared in 10 games and batted 33 times but had 9 hits including two doubles and two triples. His batting average was .273.  Lucky for him, he was sent back down to the minor leagues for the 1919 and 1920 seasons.   He was fortunate to be away from the Sox because he had no part in the 1919-1920 Black Sox scandal. 

When unlucky Shoeless Joe Jackson lost his job as the regular White Sox center fielder, lucky Johnny took his place.  He continued to play outfield from 1921 to 1929 while Jackson was banned from baseball.   

Mostil appeared in 972 games for the White Sox.  In 3507 at bats, he had 1054 hits.  His strong suit was not homeruns. He only hit 23.  He did bat in 375 runs while scoring 618 runs.  Johnny’s great talent was his speed, which allowed him to stretch singles into doubles and doubles into triples.   He led the American League in stolen bases twice and his quickness allowed him to cover center field better than any other player in the 1920s.  He earned the nickname “Rabbit” for running down any ball that was hit to the outfield.  It is believed that he was the only Major League centerfielder to catch a foul ball.  This occurred in a spring training game in Nashville in the mid 1920s. 

Mostil had a batting average above .290 six times during his career.  His best year was in 1926 when he batted .328.  He also finished second in the voting for the Most Valuable Player Award that season.  On August 3, 1926, the White Sox held a special “Johnny Mostil Day” at Comiskey Park.  The Sox played against  Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees that day.  A few thousand citizens from Whiting boarded a convoy of buses that carried them to Comiskey Park. 

On Sunday, August 23, 1970, the Whiting Knights of Columbus sponsored “John Mostil Day” to celebrate his 50 years of service to the White Sox as a player, instructional coach and scout.  Mostil had retired earlier that year due to poor health.  Between games of the doubleheader, the Knights of Columbus honored Mostil for his many years as a member of their Whiting council and for his achievements in doing humanitarian work in the Catholic Church.  In 1961, John Mostil had been awarded the title of Lateran Cross Knight by Pope John XXIII. 

Mostil provided bats, balls and equipment to the Whiting and Robertsdale Little Leagues over the years.  He was also noted for obtaining free tickets for many of the leagues’ players.  To honor his contributions, the Robertsdale Little League named its Senior Division Field “Johnny Mostil Baseball Field” in 1969. He was inducted into the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. 

Mr. John Mostil made his home at 1545 Roberts Avenue for many years. He passed away on December 10, 1970, at a convalescent home in Midlothian, Illinois, at the age of 74.   

As far as is known, Johnny Mostil is the only baseball player from Whiting to have a poem written in his honor.  This poem was published in The Whiting News  on July 1, 1926.  

ALFRED “AL” PILARCIK

Al Pilarcik was born on July 3, 1930, in Whiting.  He lived on Front Street with his father Martin, mother Helen and siblings Helen, Bernard and Martin.  He graduated from Immaculate Conception Grade School in 1944 and from Whiting High School in 1948.  He played baseball at Whiting High School as well as on various Whiting teams.  Pilarcik also participated in other sports.  His junior year at Whiting High was his best.  He led his conference with a .556 batting average in baseball, led the Oiler football team in scoring with 66 points and was fourth on the basketball squad, scoring 124 points. 

Pilarcik was signed by the New York Yankees to a Minor League contract.  He played in the minor leagues from 1948 to 1952. His baseball career was delayed when he served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954.  In 1955, his contract was purchased from the Yankees by the Kansas City Athletics.  He was sent down to the minors but called up on July 11, 1956, and played in his first big league game on July 13. 

At 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds, Pilarcik was speedy enough to play any of the three outfield positions.  He was very sure-handed and recorded a .986 fielding percentage for his career. He was left handed both batting and throwing. 

Pilarcik was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he played from 1957 to 1960.  He played in over 100 games for three successive seasons (1957-1959) with the Orioles. 

In the off-season, he took classes at Valparaiso University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree.   He later earned a master’s degree from Purdue University.   

In 1961, he played for Kansas City again, but was traded during the season to the Chicago White Sox where he finished his career.  His last game was on September 24, 1961.  He finished his career with 22 home runs, 413 hits and a batting average of .256.  His strength was his speed and fielding ability.  

After Al Pilarcik retired from baseball, he went into the teaching profession.  He taught at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana, for 33 years.  He also coached their baseball teams for 24 seasons before retiring in 2001.  Al was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.  He passed away in 2010. 

STEVE KRALY

Steve Kraly was born in Whiting, Indiana, on April 18, 1929 to Stefan (Steve) and Mary Kraly.  They emigrated from Croatia and lived on Schrage Avenue.  Steve was the youngest of four boys. Fred, John and Joseph were his siblings. He attended the Whiting Public Schools and graduated from Whiting High School in 1947. The 1946 baseball team included both Kraly (called “Crow” by his teammates) and Al Pilarcik. The team had a nineteen game winning streak and tied for the conference championship.  Steve was team captain his senior year and had a 7 – 1 record, including three shutouts.  The Oilers captured their second consecutive conference championship with a 16 – 2 record.  

Nicknamed “Lefty” he was a lanky 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 152 pounds.  Kraly was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1949.  He was originally called up to the Yankees in 1949, but did not appear in any games.   He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, which held back his playing time until 1953. 

While he played in the minor leagues with the Joplin Miners, he had an

18 – 6 record.  It was during that season that he was Mickey Mantle’s  roommate. Of that experience Steve said, “We enjoyed it and we had a lot of fun.  We became like brothers, not just teammates.” 

Kraly played with the Binghamton Triplets during most of the 1953 season, going 19 – 2 over his 22 starts before being called up to the majors to play for the Yankees.  Steve made his Major League debut on August 9, 1953.  His Major League Baseball statistics included a 0 – 2 pitching record and a 3.24 earned run average with 6 strikeouts.  The Yankees won the American League pennant in 1953 and Steve was scheduled to pitch in game 5, but a shoulder injury prevented him from doing so.  The Yanks won the World Series and Steve was awarded a championship ring. 

His last Major League game was on September 15, 1953, with the Yankees. 

Knowing that his pitching career was in jeopardy, Steve looked for a full time job outside of baseball.  He had married Irene Horton and they had started a family, so security was his number one concern.  In 1961, when Casey Stengel became manager of the New York Mets, Casey offered Steve a salary of $26,000 a year to play for him. Sadly, Steve had to decline. 

Kraly did come back to baseball.   He was the official scorer for the Binghamton Mets from 1992 through 2014.  He died on March 7, 2016, at age 86 and is buried next to his wife in Johnson City, New York.