Nicholas J “Nick” Tremark was born in Yonkers, New York on October 15, 1912. He was a star outfielder with Yonkers High School and played with the Cook Post American Legion team which won the New York State Championship at Yankee Stadium. He went on to play varsity baseball at Manhattan College, serving as captain during his senior year, and earning all metropolitan, all-eastern and Number One College Player of Eastern Colleges honors.

Despite being only 5-foot-5, the young outfielder was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1934 and made his major league debut on August 9 of that year. He had seven hits in 28 at-bats for a .250 average. In 1935 he played a further 10 games with the Dodgers but spent most of the season with the Reading/Allentown Brooks of the New York-Penn League, where he batted .333 in 136 games.

Tremark was back with Allentown in 1936 and batted an exceptional .379, prompting his final return to the major leagues – eight games with the Dodgers before the season concluded. Tremark played for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association in 1937 and 1938, and was with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Eastern League in 1939 and 1940, his last season before retiring. In 132 games during the latter season, Tremark committed just one error.

Tremark played semi-pro ball in the Metropolitan Baseball Association in New York the following years and entered military service with the Navy in 1943. He played baseball at Sampson NTS in New York in 1943 and then served as player-manager of the Bronson Field Bombers in Pensacola, Florida, where his teammates included Ted Williams, Bob Kennedy and Ray Stoviak. Chief Athletic Specialist Tremark later managed the team at Norfolk NTS in Virginia and after leaving the service at the end of 1945 he played semi-professional ball with clubs in the metropolitan area including the Mount Vernon Scarlets, Springfield Greys, Brooklyn Bushwicks and Yonkers Leaguers.

In 1956, Tremark moved to Harlingen, Texas to enter the restaurant business, where he also completed his teacher certificate and for fifteen years taught in Texas Public Schools and at the Marine Military Academy. He retired from teaching in 1967 and turned his attention to tennis where he won over 75 trophies. For two years, he was ranked Number One in the State of Texas in singles and doubles play in the 65-year and older division.

Nick Tremark, who was elected to the City of Yonkers Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, passed away in Tomball, Texas on September 7, 2000. He was 87.

Copyright © 2008 Gary Bedingfield (Baseball in Wartime). All Rights Reserved.