 John Buzhardt was a major league pitcher for more than a decade. He was born August 17, 1936 in Prosperity, SC. After high school, he signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur Free agent. Buzhardt spent 5 seasons in the minor leagues winning 59 games and posting a 4.07 ERA. He finally got called up to the show in 1958 and made his major league pitching debut with the Cubs in September of that same season. Buzhardt went 3-0 in 1958 and appeared in 21 games for the Cubs in 1959. After the 1958 season, Buzhardt was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Alvin Dark and Jim Woods for Richie Ashburn. Largely due to lack of run support, Buzhardt posted a uninspiring 5-16 record in 1960 and a 6-18 record in 1961 for the Phillies. During the 1961 season, Buzhardt won a game on July 28 and then won again on August 20, in between those two wins by Buzhardt, the Phillies lost a major league record 23 games in a row. After the 1961 season, the Phillies traded Buzhardt along with Charley Smith to the Chicago White Sox for Roy Sievers. It was with the White Sox that Buzhardt finally found some success. After an 8-12 season in 1962, Buzhardt posting a winning record for 3 straight seasons along with a career low 2.42 ERA in 1963. In August of 1967, Buzhardt was sold to the Baltimore Orioles who in turn sold Buzhardt to the Houston Astros in September of that same year. Buzhardt went 4-4 his final season in the big leagues in 1968 with the Houston Astros. John Buzhardt pitched 11 seasons in the major leagues, winning 71 games including 15 shutouts, loosing 96 games with a 3.66 ERA. After his baseball career, Buzhardt went back home to Prosperity, SC and worked for the Kodak Company. He passed away on June 15, 2008 at the age of 72. |
