Major League Baseball Player. For ten seasons (1945 to 1946 and 1949 to 1956), he played at the catcher position with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics. Born Joseph Henry Astroth, he attended Alton High School in Illinois and during his collegiate years at the University of Illinois, he excelled as a multi-sport athlete whom lettered in basketball and football as well as baseball. Following service with the United States Coast Guard during World War II, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics in 1945 and marked his Major League debut with them on August 13th, 1945. During the course of his career, Astroth earned the reputation as a fine defensive catcher whom called a good game. While serving as Bobby Shantz’s battery-mate, he was instrumental in the hurler’s producing of an MVP season in 1952. Individually, he yielded a career-high 84 hits in 104 games played that year. In 1956, he concluded his career two years after the franchise relocated to Kansas City. In 544 regular season games, he compiled 401 hits with a .254 batting average. After retiring from baseball, Astroth along with Shantz co-operated a bowling alley. (bio by: C.S.)