born in granite, maryland, he was first signed by the st. louis cardinals before the 1946 season, and appeared in three games for them in 1948 before being traded to the crosstown browns in june 1949. he was the browns' regular second baseman from 1951 to 1953, tying for the american league lead in double plays as a 1951 rookie with 118, and leading the league again in 1952 with 127.