[GeoPoto]

Player #163A: Henry J. "Zeke" Bonura (pronounced like Sonora) -- Part 2. First baseman for the Washington Senators in 1938 and 1940. 1,099 hits and 119 home runs in 7 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .380. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 1934. His best season was probably 1936 for the White Sox as he posted a .426 OBP with 120 runs scored and 138 RBIs in 688 plate appearances. His indifferent defense on balls hit to his right gave rise to the "Bonura Salute".

There are several versions of the following apocryphal story. Chisox manager Jimmy Dykes had decided that it would hardly be worth the trouble of changing his signals just because Bonura was now on the opposing team. Dykes told coach Bing Miller that Bonura had never been able to remember the signs when he was with Chicago anyway. As the story goes, the dreadfully slow-footed Bonura had made it to third on behalf of the Senators against his old team. At this point, Dykes began waving his scorecard to shoo away some flies which had been buzzing around him on the bench. Bonura, forgetting which side he was on, took Dykes' motions to be the steal sign, and he took off for the plate. He barged into the catcher, the ball was shaken loose, and he was in there. While this makes one hell of a good story, it indeed could not have happened in a regular-season game -- Bonura stole home only once in his seven-year big-league career, and that happened when he was a member of the White Sox. in the 15th inning of a game against the Yankees.

Zeke Bonura did bring the anticipated bat the Senators had been banking on, however, and slugged 22 homers for them in 1938. Despite a terrible start which had him hitting just .190 in mid-June, Bonura batted .289 and drove in 114 runs, which tied him for sixth best in the league with Lou Gehrig. Once again, his lack of range enabled him to lead all American League first basemen in fielding. Jimmy Dykes may have had a point when he'd said that at Chicago, Bonura let in three runs for every one that he batted in. Coupled with the resurgence of Al Simmons, who banged out 21 dingers in 1938, the Senators nearly doubled their home-run output. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

This thread will now enjoy a pause to enjoy the TEOTS in Dallas.