A chat with John Sevcik
John Joseph Sevcik was born in Oak Park, Illinois on July 11, 1942. After graduating from high school, John attended the University of Missouri where he starred in both football and baseball. The Missouri Tigers made it to the College World Series three times between 1962-1964 (finishing second overall to the Minnesota Gophers in 1964) with John Sevcik as their catcher. After their college careers had ended John and his twin brother Jim signed bonus contracts with the Minnesota Twins. After signing his contract, John played 59 games for Wisconsin Rapids in the Midwest league in 1964 hitting .284. Due to the bonus rule that was then in effect, John had to spend the entire 1965 season on the Minnesota Twins roster or they would stand a chance of losing him to another team. Luckily for John, the 1965 team won the American league pennant winning 102 games and went on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. John played sparingly, appearing in only 12 games that year, getting a total of 16 at bats. John had one hit, a double off the Baltimore Orioles Wally Bunker. It turned out to be John’s only hit in the major leagues. The Twins lost to the Dodgers 4 games to 3 and John watched the 1965 World Series from the bullpen, but still, 1965 was a magical year for John and the Minnesota Twins and John has a World Series ring to prove it. Sevcik played in the Twins minor league system from 1966-1971 before retiring from professional baseball. Today John is enjoying retirement in Austin, Texas.
The interview with John is 83 minutes long and took place in August 2009.
He was an amazing athlete. I remember him when we played against them at LT.
Love the interview — thank you!
I found this by looking up info on John, whom I remember from his playing days. He’s a very impressive guy. Through the whole interview I was looking forward to hearing what he did after baseball, especially since he’s so bright and articulate. I was very glad that he did get to talking about that, and to hear that he did well for himself.
Great interview by you, and thanks for having the site.
— Mark