John Leovich

Who was John Leovich?

John Joseph Leovich was an American professional baseball catcher. He was born in Portland, Oregon. He played college baseball and college football for Oregon State University, and was a letterman in football in 1939 and 1940, and in baseball in 1940.

In college, Leovich played in the first-ever Pineapple Bowl in 1940 against the University of Hawaii following the 1939 football season. He played as left end in the game, resulting in a 39-6 win. Leovich was signed to a baseball contract by Connie Mack. This became an issue when athletic director Percy Locey claimed that the A's "stole" Leovich, which was resolved when Mack claimed that he did not know Leovich was in college, and he was signed by a scout. Leovich was also looking over an offer to play for the Detroit Tigers at this time, but eventually chose the Athletics because they had a minor league team in Portland, and was familiar with some of the players and coaches.

Leovich played his first and last game for the Philadelphia Athletics on May 1, 1941 against the Cleveland Indians. In two major league at-bats against Bob Feller, he hit a ground out to shortstop Lou Boudreau and a double to right field.