Mike Kosman

Marine Corps Service

Michael Thomas “Mike” Kosman earned the title of United States Marine at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in 1943. He held the rank of private. Indiana University’s baseball records and Baseball in Wartime both identify Kosman as a Marine during World War II.

Kosman’s surviving public record does not describe an overseas assignment or combat campaign. His appearance in professional baseball during 1944 indicates that his active service was brief, but it nevertheless placed him among the many college and professional players whose careers were disrupted by wartime service.

Baseball Career

Kosman was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, on November 26, 1917. He attended Indiana University and lettered in baseball from 1939 through 1941. An Indiana alumni account called him the Hoosiers’ only consistent hitter in 1940: Kosman batted .417 in conference play, third best in the Big Ten, and was selected to captain the 1941 team.

His entire Major League career unfolded during a few minutes at Crosley Field on April 20, 1944. With Cincinnati and the Chicago Cubs tied 1–1 in the bottom of the seventh, Reds manager Bill McKechnie sent Kosman to run for third baseman Steve Mesner. Kosman advanced to third base, placing him 90 feet from scoring his first Major League run, but Cubs pitcher Bill Fleming retired the next two batters. Kosman was replaced before the eighth inning, leaving him with one game played and no plate appearance.

The Reds won 2–1 in the ninth before a crowd of 897. Kosman never returned to the majors, yet that short assignment permanently placed him in the record book. Statistical references variously list him by his regular positions—second base and the outfield—or by the only role he actually performed in a Major League game: pinch runner.

Kosman continued in the Southern Association with Birmingham and the Knoxville club that relocated to Mobile during the 1944 season. In 1945 he played 118 games for the Mobile Bears, batting .271 with 111 hits, 101 walks, 96 runs, 22 doubles, nine triples, and 18 stolen bases. He helped Mobile reach the league championship series, scoring the winning run in the tenth inning of the playoff victory that eliminated Chattanooga.

Later Life and Legacy

Kosman died in Lafayette, Indiana, on December 10, 2002, at age 85. His professional career comprised two minor-league seasons and one afternoon in Cincinnati, but that afternoon made him a Major Leaguer. He remains part of Indiana University’s record of players who reached the majors and part of the small fraternity whose entire big-league careers consisted of a single appearance.

His record also captures how narrow the boundary could be between the minors and the majors during the wartime seasons. Kosman entered a tie game, stood one base from scoring, and was gone from the lineup before Cincinnati won—an opportunity measured in minutes, but preserved in baseball history more than eight decades later.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Baseball-Reference, Mike Kosman Major League record
2. Baseball-Reference, Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds box score, April 20, 1944
3. The Hardball Times, “Coffee Sippers: Those Who Played One Game (Pinch Hitters and Runners)”
4. Baseball-Reference Register, Mike Kosman minor-league record
5. Indiana University, 2025 Baseball Media Guide
6. Indiana Alumni Magazine, June 1940
7. University of South Alabama McCall Archives, Mobile baseball transcriptions, 1931–1950
8. Baseball in Wartime, Major League players who served in the Marine Corps
9. Wikipedia, Mike Kosman