Joe Astroth

Joseph Henry Astroth (September 1, 1922 – May 3, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He was a catcher for the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics (1945–46 and 1949–56). Astroth attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, batted and threw right-handed, stood 5 ft tall and weighed 187 lb.

In 10 seasons he played in 544 games, posting a .254 career batting average, 13 home runs, and 156 runs batted in (RBI). Astroth played in more than 100 games in two seasons, 1952 and 1955. In 1951, Astroth had a career-high 30 runs scored in 64 games played. The following season, he posted his highest RBI total with 36. Astroth's career-high in home runs was five in the 1955 season.

Personal life and death
Born in East Alton, Illinois on September 1, 1922, Astroth graduated Wood River High School in 1940. He went on to attend the University of Illinois, until he joined the United States Coast Guard in 1942 and served in World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1945 and was given a contract from the Philadelphia Athletics. He married his wife Marjorie on October 18, 1947, and they remained married until his death. They had four children. After his baseball career, he ran two family businesses—a bowling alley and a dairy bar—before working for General Copper and Brass in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. He died on May 3, 2013 in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 90.