Andrew “ANDY” Pafko
(02/25/1921 - ) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1959, Pafko played for the Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52) and Milwaukee Braves (1953–59).
He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Boyceville, Wisconsin
Pafko returned home when he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves before the start of the 1953 season, becoming the only Wisconsin native on the Braves roster when they arrived in Milwaukee. A devout Slovak Lutheran, he was an instant favorite with Milwaukee's large Eastern European community.
Nicknamed "Handy Andy", Pafko was well known for good hitting and fielding, and is a five-time All-Star.
"I hit some homers in my time but I was thought of as a line drive hitter," Pafko says. "Every now and then one of my liners would go high enough to clear the fence."
Andy retired as a player after 1959 and coached for the Braves from 1960 to 1962. He did some scouting for the Braves for a few years after that, and then he and the Mrs. moved to a suburb northwest of Chicago. He always provided good copy for theChicago press, especially when the subject of the Cubs would come up. When they won their division in 1984, Pafko mused, "I never dreamed it would take them 39 years to win again. I thought they would have won by accident before then!"