We called him our “Lil Perfesser.” We had no idea that second baseman Ben Steiner actually had played a smidgen of games with the real “Lil Perfesser” of the Boston Red Sox, the great Dominic DiMaggio back in 1946. All we knew is the guy seemed to look the part of a really smart middle infielder when he joined the Houston Buffs after the start of the 1951 Texas League season. At a listed 5’11” and 165 pounds, he looked much lighter, like a guy who needed a paper weight to help him hold his ground at second base on those windy gulf breeze nights at Buff Stadium. Part of his scholarly look is abandoned in this crop shot of Steiner from the ’51 Buffs team photo by virtue of the fact he either chose, or was asked, to remove his glasses for the shot. You may be able to see that he is holding them, and with the natural look simply leaving him looking less professorial and a lot more like the 30 year old career minor leaguer he really was by the mid 20th century.
That being said, little Ben Steiner turned out to be a quiet difference-maker for the 1951 Houston Buff Texas League champions. Even as kids we could see how intuitive Steiner seem to be about knowing where to play the field against certain batters in specific game situations. He had good mobility and fair speed anyway, but his ability to place himself in just the right spot for batted balls was his real strength in anchoring the middle game defense of the ’51 Buffs.
Ben Steiner batted left and threw right, of course. He was a second baseman, born in Alexandria Virginia on July 28, 1921. Steiner attended North Carolina State, but didn’t play ball while he was there. Signed by the Boston Red Sox, he broke in as a shortstop with Class C Canton in 1941, hitting a healthy .296 in 49 games before finishing with Class B Greensboro, and batting only .206 in eight games. Still, his defensive play and aptitude shone through early. Steiner stayed with Greensboro in 1942, hitting .234 in only 71 games, again at shortstop, but helping him get ready for some very productive full-time action over the next couple of years. Based on his limited arm strength, Steiner was switched to second base in 1943, launching him into position to do his best.
Steiner batted .292 in 138 games at second base for Class A Scranton in 1943. He followed that season in 1944 with one of is two best offensive years, batting .316 for Class AA Louisville with a .404 slugging average in 149 games. That good year bought Ben a ticket to the show in 1945, where he broke in with the Red Sox on April 17, 1945, going .257 in 78 big leagues before being sent back down to Louisville, where he only hit .216 over 44 games to conclude the ’45 season.
1946 saw Steiner going 1 for 4 in three games with Boston before being shipped off to AAA Toronto for a full season (.238 in 106 games).
After he was dealt to Detroit before 1947 rolled around, Steiner made one game appearance for the Tigers before he was shipped to AA Atlanta and what was his best offensive season on record. Ben Steiner batted .316 with a .430 slugging average in 125 games for AA Atlanta in 1947. Steiner was acquired by the Cardinals after 1947. He spent the next three seasons on assignment to their AAA Columbus club, as his BA dipped each year(1948-50) from .283 to .266 to .244.
After Ben Steiner finished the ’51 Buffs season at .262 and 30 years of age, he hung them up for good. Apparently his intuition for how to play batters also applied to his assessment ability on where he stood with his baseball future. Fortunately for the Houston Buffs, Ben Steiner saw his way through the 1951 championship season.
Ben Steiner passed away in Venice, Florida on October 27, 1988 at the age of 67. We have a hunch that Ben knew where he stood on broader matters when that day came, as well.
Tags: Baseball, Houston Buffs
The Pecan Park Eagle 
September 22, 2009 at 1:40 pm |
Bill: A very fine article; I hadn’t thought abput Ben Steiner since I was a mere pup. Did Joe Medwick play for the Buffs on the way up to the Big Leagues, and afterwards, when his career was over? Are you researching a piece on the radio broadcasters employed by the club?
September 22, 2009 at 2:14 pm |
Tony – I just posted the following as a reply to your comment on the Steiner article: Tony: Joe Medwick was a Buff on the way UP (1931: .305, 19 HR, 126 RBI; 1932: .354, 26 HR, 111 RBI – and also on the way DOWN (1948: .276, 2 HR, 20 RBI). Yes, I’m still researching the Buff broadcasters. There’s a lot ot fill in between Bruce Layer’s first radio broadcast over KPRC on April 11, 1928 and Lee Hendrix on KATL back in 1947. Of course, Loel Passe came in 1950 to work the games at KTHT and he was joined by Frick winner Gene Elston for the Buffs’ last season in 1961. Look for this article later, somewhere down the road. Thanks for your interest and kind words. – Bill Stay dry. Don’t skid. – Bill
September 22, 2009 at 2:09 pm |
Tony: Joe Medwick was a Buff on the way UP (1931: .305, 19 HR, 126 RBI; 1932: .354, 26 HR, 111 RBI – and also on the way DOWN (1948: .276, 2 HR, 20 RBI). Yes, I’m still researching the Buff broadcasters. There’s a lot ot fill in between Bruce Layer’s first radio broadcast over KPRC on April 11, 1928 and Lee Hendrix on KATL back in 1947. Of course, Loel Passe came in 1950 to work the games at KTHT and he was joined by Frick winner Gene Elston for the Buffs last season in 1961. Look for this article later, somewhere down the road. Thanks for your interest and kind words. – Bill
June 27, 2014 at 4:54 am |
Bill – Thanks for the article. I didn’t get a chance to hear about my grandfather’s stories as he died when I was 3 years old. I’ve recently become obsessed looking him up and trying to piece his life together and looking to get back some memorabilia So again, thank you for this info.