VOSMIK, JOSEPH FRANKLIN "JOE" (4 Apr. 1910-27 Jan. 1962), baseball player for the CLEVELAND INDIANS (1930-36), was considered by baseball experts the best hitter to come from the Cleveland sandlots, he averaged over .300 in his major-league career. Vosmik was born in Cleveland to Anna and Josef Vosmik. A local idol of the fans in the Broadway-E. 55th St. neighborhood, he was befriended by Bill Kuchta, a Harvard and E. 71st St. druggist, who kept him supplied with bats and baseballs. Signed by the Indians after an All-Star Class A game at LEAGUE PARK in 1928, Vosmik began his professional career in 1929 with Frederick of the Blue Ridge League. He reported to the Indians in Sept. 1930, after batting .397 with Terre Haute of the Three-I League. In Vosmik's debut in 1931 against the White Sox, he went 5 for 5, including 3 doubles off the right-field wall. His greatest season was 1935, when he lost the batting title to Buddy Meyer of Washington, who hit .3490 to Vosmik's .3483. In 1935, Vosmik led the league in base hits (216), doubles (47), and triples (20), driving in 110 runs. Vosmik was traded to St. Louis in Jan. 1937. In 1938 he was sent to Boston and led the league with 201 base hits. Finishing his career with Brooklyn in 1942 and Washington in 1944, Vosmik compiled a lifetime batting average of .307. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he managed teams at Tucson, Dayton, Oklahoma City, and Batavia and scouted for the Cleveland Indians (1951, 1952). Later he was an automobile and appliance salesman. Vosmik married Sally Joanne Okla in 1936 and had 3 children, Joseph, Larry, and Karen. He died in Cleveland and was buried at Highland Park Cemetery.
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