Norm Zauchin
Norbert Henry Zauchin (born November 17, 1929 in Royal Oak, Michigan; died January 31, 1999 in Birmingham) was a first baseman for the 1950 Birmingham Barons and played six seasons in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators.
Zauchin graduated from Kimball High School in Royal Oak and began his playing career at age 18 with the Milford (Delaware) Red Sox of the Class D Eastern Shore League, hitting .353 with 33 home runs in 120 games. He spent most of 1949 with the San Jose Red Sox of the Class C California League. He hit .322 with 22 home runs in 101 games there and finished the season with a few games with higher-classification clubs in Scranton and Louisville.
In 1950 Zauchin started the year with the Birmingham Barons and set a Rickwood Field record with 35 home runs. He began the 1951 season with the AAA Louisville Colonels and was promoted to the parent club for
He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1951, 1955–57) and Washington Senators (1958–59). He batted and threw right-handed. In a six-season career, Zauchin was a .233 hitter with 50 home runs and 159 RBI in 346 games. He is most remembered for driving in 10 runs during a major league game.
His most productive season came in 1955, when he hit .239 with 27 home runs for the Red Sox and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting, behind Herb Score and Billy Klaus. Zauchin played in 130 games and led AL first basemen in fielding percentage (.995). On May 27, 1955, Zauchin collected 10 RBI with three home runs and a double in the first five innings of a 16–0 victory over Washington.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Before the 1958 season, Zauchin was traded with Albie Pearson to the Senators for Pete Runnels. Runnels went on to win two batting titles for Boston, in 1960 and 1962, and just miss another by six points in 1958. Zauchin retired in 1960 after spending his last year in the minor leagues.
Zauchin was inducted into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2007.
Zauchin died in Birmingham, Alabama, after a long illness. He was 69 years old.