Zeke Bonura

Zeke Bonura
Zeke Bonura
	First baseman
	Born: September 20, 1908; New Orleans, Louisiana
	Died: March 9, 1987 (aged 78); New Orleans, Louisiana
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	April 17, 1934, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
	September 26, 1940, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average	.307
Home runs	119
Runs batted in	704
Teams
	Chicago White Sox (1934–1937); Washington Senators (1938); New York Giants (1939); Washington Senators (1940); Chicago Cubs (1940);

Henry John "Zeke" Bonura (September 20, 1908 – March 9, 1987) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1934 through 1940, he played for the Chicago White Sox (1934–1937), Washington Senators (1938, 1940), New York Giants (1939) and Chicago Cubs (1940). Bonura batted and threw right-handed. He was born in New Orleans.

In a seven-season career, Bonura posted a .307 batting average (1099-for-3582) with 119 home runs and 704 RBI in 917 games played. Defensively, he was a good first baseman, recording a career .992 fielding percentage.

One of Bonura's more noteworthy athletic accomplishments has nothing to do with the sport of baseball. In June 1925, at the age of sixteen, Bonura became the youngest male athlete ever to win an event at the National (AAU) Track and Field Championships. He threw the javelin 65.18 meters (213-10) to claim the title. Bonura's winning effort was a meet record by nearly twenty-feet; a prodigious mark that remained on the books until 1930.^[1]

Military service[]

in 1941, Bonura joined the army and was stationed at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. With the outbreak of World War II, he was recalled to active duty, and returned to Camp Shelby where he was in charge of organizing baseball. In mid 1943, he was posted to Oran, Algeria.^[2]^[3] He organized large-scale baseball operations, consisting of 150 teams in 6 leagues.^[2] Playoffs among the teams narrowed them to two finalists – the Casablanca Yankees, consisting of medics, and the Algiers Streetwalkers, consisting of MPs.^[2]^[3] The North African World Series was a best two-out-of-three-game championship played on October 3 and 4, 1943, at Eugene Stadium in Algiers, Algeria, between the two teams.^[3]^[4] The Casablanca Yankees won the series in two straight games.^[2]^[5] The winners were presented with baseballs autographed by General Eisenhower, and the winning team received a trophy made from an unexploded Italian bomb.^[2]^[3]

In mid 1945, Bonura was discharged from the army with the rank of master sergeant. He received the Legion of Merit medal while serving in the US Army during World War II, for his work as athletic director for the Army in Algeria in 1943 in 1944.^[6]

Highlights[]

Hit .300 or more in four of his seven major league seasons, with a career-high .345 in 1937, fourth in the American League, behind Charlie Gehringer (.371), Lou Gehrig (.351) and Joe DiMaggio (.346).
Averaged 17 home runs per season, with a career-high 27 in his 1934 rookie season, setting a White Sox team record. The record was tied by Joe Kuhel in 1940 and surpassed by Gus Zernial in 1950 with 29.
Averaged 100 runs batted in per season, with a career high 138 RBI in 1936 with the Chicago White Sox, a team record that stood until 1998, which was broken by Albert Belle with 152.
Led American League first baseman in fielding percentage in 1934, 1936, and 1938.
Member of the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

College career[]

Bonura did not play baseball at Loyola New Orleans because the university did not field a team. Instead he lettered in basketball, football, and track and field.^[7]^[8]

References[]

^ http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/men/mJT.asp
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "S. Derby Gisclair on the Wartime Contributions of Zeke Bonura". BaseballLibrary.com. February 2004. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bullock, Steven R. (2004). Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military During World War II. University of Nebraska Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-8032-1337-9.
^ "Asia Baseball Championship". Baseball-fever.com. 2007-11-26. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
^ "Page 2". Statesville Record & Landmark. October 5, 1943. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
^ Wakefield, Wanda Ellen (1997). Playing to Win: Sports and the American Military, 1898–1945. State University of New York Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0791433133.
^ "Loyola athletics: The Times-Picayune covers 175 years of New Orleans history". nola.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
^ "Henry "Zeke" Bonura". lasportshall.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

External links[]

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Baseball Library
List of National Champions: Men's Javelin Throw
Zeke Bonura at Find a Grave

[1] ttp://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/men/mJT.asp

[baseballlibrary1-2] "S. Derby Gisclair on the Wartime Contributions of Zeke Bonura". BaseballLibrary.com. February 2004. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.

[google2-3] Bullock, Steven R. (2004). Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military During World War II. University of Nebraska Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-8032-1337-9.

[4] "Asia Baseball Championship". Baseball-fever.com. 2007-11-26. Retrieved November 7, 2013.

[5] "Page 2". Statesville Record & Landmark. October 5, 1943. Retrieved November 7, 2013.

[6] Wakefield, Wanda Ellen (1997). Playing to Win: Sports and the American Military, 1898–1945. State University of New York Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0791433133.

[7] "Loyola athletics: The Times-Picayune covers 175 years of New Orleans history". nola.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

[8] "Henry "Zeke" Bonura". lasportshall.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

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v t US National Championship winners in men's javelin throw
1909–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1909: Ralph Rose 1910: Bruno Brodd 1911: 1912: 1913: Bruno Brodd 1914–19: 1920–21: Milton Angier 1922: Flint Hanner 1923: Harry Hoffman 1924: 1925: Zeke Bonura 1926: John Kuck 1927: Charles Harlow 1928: Creth Hines 1929: Jess Mortensen 1930–31: 1932: Malcolm Metcalf^Note 1933: Lee Bartlett 1934: 1935: Horace Odell 1936: John Mottram 1937: 1938: 1939–42: 1943–44: Martin Biles 1945: 1946: 1947–48: Steve Seymour 1949: Bud Held 1950: Steve Seymour 1951: Bud Held 1952: Bill Miller 1953–55: Bud Held 1956: Cy Young 1957: 1958: Bud Held 1959–60: Al Cantello 1961: 1962: Dan Studney 1963: Larry Stuart 1964: Frank Covelli 1965: 1966: 1967: 1968: Frank Covelli 1969: Mark Murro 1970–71: Bill Skinner 1972: Fred Luke 1973: Cary Feldmann 1974: Sam Colson 1975: Richard George 1976: Fred Luke 1977: Bruce Kennedy 1978: Bill Schmidt 1979: Duncan Atwood
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Duncan Atwood 1981: Bruce Kennedy 1982: Bob Roggy 1983: Rod Ewaliko 1984: 1985–86: Tom Petranoff 1987: Duncan Atwood 1988: Dave Stephens 1989: Mike Barnett 1990: 1991: Mike Barnett 1992: Tom Pukstys
1993–onwards USA Track & Field	1993: Tom Pukstys 1994: Todd Riech 1995: Tom Pukstys 1996: Todd Riech 1997–99: Tom Pukstys 2000–07: Breaux Greer 2008: Bobby Smith 2009: 2010: Sean Furey 2011: Mike Hazle 2012: 2013: Riley Dolezal 2014–15: Sean Furey 2016: Cyrus Hostetler 2017: Riley Dolezal 2018: Curtis Thompson 2019: Michael Shuey 2021^{2020 OT}: Curtis Thompson
Olympic Trials	The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notes	Kenneth Churchill had the longest throw in the 1932 competition (which doubled as the Olympic Trials), ahead of Malcolm Metcalf. However, Churchill qualified for the final only due to a late rule change by the U.S. Olympic Committee, allowing eight rather than five finalists. As this rule change applied only to the Olympic Trials, Churchill is considered to have won at the Trials and Metcalf at the national championships, even though they were the same meet.