Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #163A: Henry J. "Zeke" Bonura (pronounced like Sonora) -- Part 1. 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".

We'll let Deveaux explain Washington's 1938 acquisition: On March 18, 1938, Joe Kuhel was traded to the White Sox for the antithesis of Kuhel, a big lummox with the rhyming name of Zeke "What a physique" Bonura. A classic good-hit, no-field first baseman, the muscular Bonura (also affectionately called "Banana Nose" for obvious reasons) was a fan's delight but a manager's nightmare. He held out practically on an annual basis, and Jimmy Dykes, the White Sox pilot, was of the opinion that Bonura was the worst first baseman who had ever lived, and said so publicly.

Bonura, in actual fact a college man, was so slothful a fielder as to often make himself look ridiculous on a ballfield when he didn't have a bat in his hands. When he mysteriously led the league's first basemen in fielding in '36, Dykes was quick to discredit Bonura, pointing out that players don't get errors on balls they don't touch. What's more, Bonura wouldn't just wave at ground balls, he would give them the "Mussolini salute" with his glove. Opposing fans in particular loved this, but it is not hard to imagine what his manager thought of the behavior.