By Guy Limbeck, Post-Bulletin
Bill “Moose” Skowron, who played for Austin in the old Southern Minny League, died on Friday after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 81. Skowron played for Austin during the 1950 season when the Southern Minny was a highly popular baseball league.
Skowron played football and baseball at Purdue and planned to go back to the school after playing in Austin. But he did so well that the New York Yankees signed him to a contract. The first baseman went on to play 14 seasons with the Yankees. He hit 211 career home runs and appeared in eight World Series, winning five times. In 39 World Series games, he batted .293 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs.
He played with the Yankees from 1955-62 and was part of the Mickey Mantle Era.