George Shuba

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with George Shuba

George Thomas "Shotgun" Shuba was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1924. He played in Little League ball clubs and high school baseball as a boy. After a try-out to be a professional baseball player in 1943, the Dodgers club signed him in 1944. In 1946, he was playing as a left fielder for the Dodgers' farm team, the Montreal Royals, when he met teammate Jackie Robinson. His on-deck greeting upon Robinson's crossing homeplate at a Jersey City season opener was a publicly notable effort at racial tolerance. Shuba spent time in an Alabama minor-league team for the Dodgers before he was ordered up to Brooklyn's Ebbets Field in 1948. Called upon infrequently by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 and 1950, the left-handed pinch hitter stepped up his appearances in 1951 and subsequently in three World Series, including their winning season in 1955. He was a frequent resident of the Bossert Hotel in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood for much of his career. After playing for Montreal again in 1956, he went on to become a postal clerk in Youngstown. Married since age thirty-three, Shuba was a father of three. As of his death in 2014, he had eight grandchildren.

Beginning his interview, George Thomas "Shotgun" Shuba mentions a few factors that led to his time in Brooklyn as one of the Dodgers. He then recalls details and stories about teammates, plays at Ebbets Field, team President Walter O'Malley, living in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, and messages from local fans. He contrasts Brooklyn baseball with other major league New York teams of the late-1940s to mid-1950s. He turns back to some personal details; including the source of his nickname, his ambidextrous ability on the field, and his overactive thyroid. He compares the business of baseball of then with the twenty-first century. In the middle of the interview, Shuba recalls Jackie Robinson in terms of character and in plays. He returns to his own background; his post-Dodgers years and family life, as well as the lives of his parents, and his earliest times playing ball. He closes with memories of a 1985 Dodgers reunion and a salute to the Brooklyn fans. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

The Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Sports and leisure series features a dynamic range of narrators. Some are known public figures and others are well-known in their field, all having proactively contributed to the athletic pursuits or relaxing diversions of the borough. This ongoing series focuses on Brooklyn history and the experiences of these narrators, as well as documents local, national and international cultural events. The oldest narrator in this series was born in 1931.

Citation

Shuba, George, Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, July 23, 2008, Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Sports and leisure, 2008.031.6.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.