The sleeveless Cincinnati uniforms of the 1950s were made to allow Kluszewski’s bulging muscles room to move, but he was more than a slugger. The former University of Indiana football star hit with marked consistency and awesome power and fielded his position smoothly. He led the NL with 49 homers and 141 RBI in 1954 and averaged 43 HRs and 116 RBIs from 1953 to 1956. He also hit .300 seven times. In 1955 he led in hits (192) and set a modern NL record by scoring runs in 17 straight games. Starting in 1951, he topped NL first basemen in fielding five straight years, a ML record. Injuries eventually cut into his skills, and he spent his last five seasons pinch-hitting nearly as often as he started, but with the White Sox in the six-game 1959 WS, he banged three homers and drove in 10 runs.
