Stephens, "Junior" (Vernon D.)
Baseball
b. Oct. 23, 1920, McAlister, NM
d. Nov. 3, 1968
An unusually powerful hitter for a shortstop, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Stephens joined the AL's St. Louis Browns at the end of the 1941 season, appearing in just 3 games, and took over as a starter the following year.
Stephens led the league with 109 RBI in 1944, when he batted .293 and had 20 home runs. He was the home run leader with 24 in 1945 and he also led AL shortstops with a .961 fielding percentage that year.
His home run totals dropped to 14 and 15 the next two seasons and he was traded to the Boston Red Sox, where he immediately benefited from the short leftfield wall in Fenway Park. Stephens hit 29 home runs and had 137 RBI in 1948. He led the league in RBI with 159 in 1949, when he hit .290 with 39 home runs, and with 144 in 1950, when he had a .295 average and 30 home runs.
After playing in just 109 games in 1951 and 92 in 1952, Stephens split the 1953 season between the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns. The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles in 1954. Stephens batted .285 with only 8 home runs in 101 games with them that season. He retired after playing in 25 games with the Orioles and White Sox in 1955.
Stephens was named to the All-Star team eight times in his 15 major-league seasons.