Stan Lopata, 87, legendary Phillies catcher of the 1950s

WHEN A BASEBALL legend like Rogers Hornsby gave a hitter advice, he'd be wise to take it.

Stan Lopata, something of a legend himself as a Phillies catcher in the '50s, was having problems at the plate in 1954 when he and outfielder Johnny Wyrostek ran into Hornsby during a road trip.

Referring to Lopata, Wyrostek asked Hornsby, "What do you think about this kid?"

The Hall of Fame infielder (.358 career batting average, 2,930 hits), said that he had seen Lopata on TV and that he missed the ball too many times.

"He said you should get a piece of the ball every time you swing the bat - not necessarily a base hit, but get a piece of it," Lopata said.

Stan took the advice to heart and worked on his stance, getting lower and lower, until he developed his famous crouch, and he concentrated on getting a piece of the ball.

As a result, Stan Lopata became one of the best power-hitting catchers in the National League in the mid-'50s.

Stanley Edward Lopata died Saturday from heart complications at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at age 87.

Stan played for the Phillies from 1948 to 1958, accumulating a .257 batting average with 25 triples, 116 home runs and 395 RBI in 822 games.

His biggest year was 1956 when he had 33 doubles, seven triples, 32 homers, 95 RBI and a .267 batting average. He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1955 and 1956.

Among Phillies catchers, he holds the single-season records for triples (7) and homers (32), both set in 1956.

Stan was a member of the famous "Whiz Kids" team of 1950, which won the Phillies' first National League pennant since 1915. Stan was sharing the catcher's spot with Andy Seminick that season and batted .209 in 58 games. The team lost four straight to the New York Yankees in the World Series.

During the 1949 season, his first with the Phillies, a reporter wrote that Stan "hit one of the longest homers Sunday at Shibe Park since the days of Jimmie Foxx."

Stan's death leaves four survivors from the Whiz Kids: pitchers Curt Simmons and Bob Miller, infielder Putsy Caballero and outfielder Jack Mayo.

"Stan was one of my dearest friends - great family," Miller said. "We were together in American Legion Ball and together 10 years later with the Phillies."

Both Miller and Lopata grew up in Detroit.

Stan graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit in 1943 with the nickname "Babe." He entered the Army that fall and fought through France in World War II. He received a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for wounds.

The Phillies signed him to a $20,000 bonus before the 1946 season and assigned him to Terre Haute, Ill. The following season, he hit .325 at Utica and was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player. After spending most of the 1948 season in Triple-A ball in Toronto, he joined the Phillies for 15 games in September.

He remained with the Phillies through the 1958 season and then was traded to the Milwaukee Braves with Ted Kazanski and Johnny O'Brien for Gene Conley, Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe. He played a total of 32 games over two seasons in Milwaukee, plagued by injuries, and retired in 1960.

While with the Phillies, Stan and his family lived in Abington.

After his retirement from baseball, Stan worked for a time for a steel plant in Dearborn, Mich., then moved back to Philadelphia to work for IBM.

Eagles great Chuck Bednarik got him into the concrete business, and he rose to vice president of sales for JDM Materials of Huntingdon Valley before retiring in 1986.

Stan was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, and the National Polish-American Hall of Fame in 1997.

He lived in Mesa, Ariz., until last fall when the family moved back to the Philadelphia area.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Betty; three sons, Anthony, Gregory and Matthew; three daughters, Joann Sarver, Mary Terese Lopata and Carol Chornock; 16 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by another son, Thomas.

Services: Funeral Mass 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Bernadette of Lourdes Church, Turner Ave., Drexel Hill. Friends may call at 8:30 a.m. at the Donohue Funeral Home, 8401 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby. Burial will be private.