Edward Francis Bouchee (March 7, 1933 - January 23, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He appeared in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for three National League clubs (the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets) from 1956 to 1962.

Early life

Born in Livingston, Montana, Bouchee moved with his family to Spokane, Washington during World War II. He attended Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, where he was an all-state athlete in football, basketball and baseball. In high school, he became longtime friends with future major league pitcher Jack Spring.

Bouchee attended Washington State University, where he played college baseball for the Cougars in 1952.

Career

He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1957, hitting .293 with 17 home runs and 76 RBI. Those would all prove to be career highs. On April 24, 1957, Bouchee's bases-loaded triple against Bob Friend of the Pittsburgh Pirates allowed pinch runner John Kennedy, the first black player in Phillies' history, to score his only major league run.

After the 1957 season was over, Bouchee was arrested for exposing himself to young girls. He pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including indecent exposure. Bouchee was sentenced to three years of probation, spent a few months in a psychiatric institution in Connecticut, and then was allowed to return to the Phillies on July 1, 1958. It is for this reason that the 1958 Topps card #145 (which Bouchee was supposed to be on) was not issued.

He was drafted by the New York Mets from the Cubs in the 1961 MLB expansion draft. He played professional baseball through 1963, having spent most of his last two seasons in the minor leagues.

Later life

After retiring from baseball at the age of 30, Bouchee moved to Chicago and worked for ACDelco as a warehouse supervisor. He later retired to Gilbert, Arizona. He died in 2013 after being admitted to a Phoenix hospital for complications of diabetes several weeks earlier. His wife Joanne survived him. One of their four children, Chris Bouchee, played minor league baseball in the Phillies farm system.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]