George “Shotgun” Shuba

It was reported on Monday that former Brooklyn Dodger George Shuba has passed away at his home in Youngstown, Ohio. He was 89 years old.

Shuba, who was given the nickname “Shotgun” because of his ability to scatter hits everywhere on the field like a shotgun blast, is best known for being the first white baseball player to shake the hand of Jackie Robinson after Robinson hit his first professional home run on April 18, 1946 when both were playing for the Dodgers minor league affiliate Montreal Royals. The moment was captured on film and the photograph was titled “Handshake for the Century.” According to George’s son Michael, his father had a large framed copy of the famous photograph proudly hanging on the wall in his Youngstown home.

‘Handshake for the Century’
(Photo courtesy of Mike Shuba)

ThinkBlueLA staff writer Harold Uhlman wrote a detailed article on George Shuba back on December 31, 2012. The article was re-posted on April 18, 2014 – the 68th anniversary of the Handshake for the Century.

Shuba wrote a book in 2007 titled My Memories as a Brooklyn Dodger that chronicles his childhood and his struggles to make it to The Show, which he accomplished on July 2, 1948. Shuba spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, all with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was a proud member of the 1955 team that won the first World Series title in franchise history.

Shuba was one of 13 surviving members of that historic 1955 Dodgers team invited to Dodger Stadium in 2005 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their World Championship. He was joined by former teammates Carl Erskine, Roger Craig, Bob Borkowski, Don Newcombe, Johnny Podres, Clem Labine, Sandy Koufax, Ed Roebuck, Don Zimmer, Tommy Lasorda and Duke Snider. The only surviving member not present was Billy Loes.

Shuba is survived by his wife, Kathryn, his son, Michael, daughters Marlene and Marykay and his sister, Helen. 

Funeral services are pending.