Stan Lopata
| Stan Lopata | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: September 12, 1925 Delray, Michigan |
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Died: June 15, 2013 (aged 87) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 19, 1948, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 12, 1960, for the Milwaukee Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .254 | ||
| Home runs | 116 | ||
| Runs batted in | 397 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Stanley Edward Lopata (September 12, 1925 – June 15, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, Lopata played in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Braves. In 853 career games, Lopata recorded a batting average of .254 and accumulated 661 hits, 116 home runs, and 379 runs batted in (RBI).
A two-time all-star, he was the first National League catcher to wear glasses.
Born in Delray, a neighborhood of Detroit, Lopata was a graduate of Southwestern High School. After finishing his service in World War II with the 14th Armored Division in Europe in 1945, Lopata began his professional baseball career in the minor leagues with the Terre Haute Phillies of the Class B Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League in 1946 after the big-league Philadelphia club signed him to a $20,000 bonus. The Phillies discovered Lopata when he emerged as a star in the sandlots of Detroit, Michigan, as well as the tough American Legion Baseball league. He did well in his first season for Terre Haute, posting up a .292 batting average with a .540 slugging percentage, 9 home runs, and 11 triples in just 67 games played.
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