Ed Bouchee
A steady-hitting first baseman who earned All-Star honors before his career was sidetracked by personal challenges.
1933–2013 (age 80)·American baseball player·Birthday: March 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Ed Bouchee finished runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year in 1957 and made the All-Star team in 1958. The Philadelphia Phillies first baseman batted .293 with 17 home runs and 76 RBIs during his debut season, showing a reliable bat and solid glove. He anchored first base for a Phillies club in the midst of a rebuild. In 1959, Bouchee was suspended for the entire season after an off-field incident involving a minor. The suspension cost him a critical year of development. He returned to the majors in 1960 but never matched his early production. Bouchee played for the Chicago Cubs in 1961 and joined the expansion New York Mets in 1962, hitting .219 with five home runs in his final season. He retired with a .265 career average, 61 home runs, and 303 RBIs over six seasons. A single interruption altered what had been a promising path.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Ed was born in 1933, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ed Was Born
The biggest hits of 1933
#1 Movie
King Kong
Best Picture
Cavalcade
Ed's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1933Born
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1938Started school
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1946Became a teenager
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Could drive
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1951Could vote
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Turned 21
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1963Turned 30
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 40
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 50
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 60
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 70
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 80
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1957 after batting .293.
- Selected as a National League All-Star in 1958.
- Led National League first basemen in fielding percentage during the 1958 season.
- Played for the inaugural 1962 New York Mets team.
Did You Know?
He was a college baseball star at Washington State University.
Bouchee missed the entire 1960 season due to a suspension from Major League Baseball.
He hit a grand slam home run in his first game back from his suspension in 1961.
After baseball, he worked in the automotive industry in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.
“A good swing is about seeing the ball and hitting it square.”
