Looking Back: Buster Boguskie Remembered

This interview between former Nashville Vols second baseman Buster Boguskie and Bill Traughber is from June 1999. Boguskie died on June 17, 2001 at age 77.

Citizens of Nashville knew him for 32 years as "Mr. Councilman," but to his Nashville Vols' teammates he was always "Buster".  

Scrappy second baseman, Harold "Buster" Boguskie, was one of the most popular players to ever play at Sulphur Dell.  

Upon graduating from Cumberland High School in1942, Boguskie participated in the highly competitive American Legion baseball league. Boguskie was an employee of the Dupont Company, which also sponsored a Legion team. 

Following a three-year stint in the army, Boguskie returned to the Dupont Company, but quickly received an invitation to the Nashville Vols' spring training camp from manager Larry Gilbert.

"I became Mr. Gilbert's batboy when he first came to Nashville in 1939," Boguskie said. "He also knew me from American Legion ball. And in 1946 I went with the Vols to Douglas, Ga., for the spring training camp. I was just a kid and didn't make the team. So I wound up with Hopkinsville, Ky., that was Class D Kitty League, which is what they called it."

The following year, he made the Vols' roster and played for his hometown club through the 1953 minor league season. Primarily used as a utility player for his first two years with the team, Boguskie later earned the regular Vols' second base position. 

On opening day at Sulphur Dell on April 16, 1948 against the Chattanooga Lookouts Boguskie tied the Southern Association record with six hits in a single game. This was the day Nashville fans truly adopted Boguskie as one of their favorite players.

The Vols were ahead 14-13, when he made his sixth plate appearance during the home half of the eighth. Batting leadoff, he had reached base safely on three doubles and two singles. Despite this, he was asked to do the unexpected -- bunt!

"In certain situations, it calls for a bunt," said Boguskie. "I don't care who is hitting, if the situation calls for a bunt -- you bunt. I always said if that is what the manager says for you to do, you do it. Mr. Gilbert believed in hitting, he wasn't too much of a bunt guy."

Ironically, the bunt got through the infield for Boguskie's sixth straight hit. The Lookouts scored two runs in the ninth and were up 15-14. Boguskie would get a chance at the outright record of seven hits in one game.

Although Boguskie was thinking of a Vols' rally, he couldn't help but to be aware of the situation.

"Usually, you don't keep up with what you are doing," said Boguskie. "To be honest with you, I didn't even know how many times I had been at-bat. Then several teammates mentioned, 'Hey, you need one more hit for seven' or the crowd would yell out how many hits I had. You couldn't help but to be aware of it."

Now, with the scoreboard showing the Vols trailing by a run, Boguskie's thoughts were of winning the game.

"It was a wild ball game," recalled Boguskie. "I got thrown out at first base on the seventh time at-bat. The ball was not hit hard between first and second. The first baseman fielded the ball and the pitcher covered first base. 

 "It was a play that could have been called either way but the umpire called me out and that was just the way it was. It would have been nice to have owned the record by myself, but I can say I led the league in hitting for one day."

 The Vols failed to score and lost 15-14.

Sulphur Dell was a difficult field to play on. The configuration of the park with various distances to the outfield fences was a challenge to both fielders and batters. It was notorious for it's short right field fence (262 feet) and the high screen, which extended from the right field foul pole to right centerfield.

"Let me say this about Sulphur Dell," Boguskie reminisced. "In a way, it was a bad ballpark to play in and yet it was a wonderful ballpark to play in. A lot of cheap home runs were hit in Nashville, but a lot of balls hit to right that should have been home runs were stopped by the screen."

Most of his fond memories were of his teammates.

"I played with players like Bob Lennon and Carl Sawatski who could hit the ball out of any park -- it just didn't matter where they played," said Boguskie. "Many times I heard an opposing player say, 'I'm glad to get out of this ballpark (Sulphur Dell).' That was especially for the pitchers who wouldn't know how to pitch to our batters. They could get hurt." 

Boguskie never had the opportunity to play in the majors. A knee injury earlier in his career would limit his ability. During 1954 spring training with the Vols, he was offered the chance to become a player-manager for Rock Hill, N.C., of the Tri-State League.

The following year, he was with Lake Charles, LA of the Class C Evangeline League as a player-manager. In the latter part of this 1957 season, Boguskie signed with Joe Engel's Chattanooga Lookouts for the final three weeks of the Southern Association season. They wanted his experience since they were in a pennant race where they eventually lost in the playoffs.

"Mr. Engel offered me a contract to come back to Chattanooga the next year as a player or get me a job as a manager," Boguskie said. "I said, 'No. I'm going home.' My little girl was getting ready to go to school, so I came home and started selling sporting goods."

As a minor league manager, Boguskie was 52-87 at Lake Charles and his Rock Hill club was 45-70.

Boguskie batted .290 (1,025-for-3, 530) in 1,010 minor league games in 10 seasons. His career stats include: 56 home runs, 12 triples and 168 doubles. Boguskie's best year in Nashville was in 1951 where he batted .322 (136-for-423). He clubbed 10 home runs for the Vols in 1950. In Hopkinsville, Boguskie batted a career high .354 (190-for-537) with 13 home runs most in a single season.

Boguskie remained in the sporting goods business until his semi-retirement in 1994, but still sells today. In 1962, he was elected to his first term with the Nashville City Council when Nashville became a Metropolitan City. He served his district for 32 years.

Boguskie can speak to any of his personal baseball accomplishments, but he was considered the ultimate team player first. His contribution to a 1952 Vols' team record gave him a great deal of pleasure

"We made 222 double-plays, that was a world record that year," Boguskie said proudly. "A lot of people say, 'Hey, you must have had a great double play combination'. I said, no, we had a lousy pitching staff; they put a lot of people on base. 

"Jim Marshall played first base for us, myself, Rance Pless, Bob Boring and the shortstop, Zizzy Zasinski, were the five infielders. I have the framed photograph of that infield on my den wall."

Traughber's Tidbit: Nashville's Strafford High School's football stadium is named "Buster Boguskie Stadium." Strafford is in the district that Boguskie served as a Nashville councilman.

If you have any comments or suggestions contact Bill Traughber via email [email protected].