Background
Broaca was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was of Lithuanian descent.
Broaca was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was of Lithuanian descent.
He attended Lawrence High School, but transferred to and graduated from Phillips Academy after two years.
However, in 1937, Broaca took a leave of absence for no apparent reason and only pitched in 7 games. He did not pitch at all in 1938, and in 1939 he played briefly with the Cleveland Indians. His lifetime record as a pitcher for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians was 44–29.
He continued his education at Yale University.
While at Yale, he was a tri-sport athlete, competing in baseball, boxing, and track. In his rookie season with the New York Yankees in 1934, Broaca went 12–9 as a starter with an earned run average of 4.16.
In 1935, he had his most successful statistical season, where he went 15–7 with an European Research Area of 3.58. The Yankees were so outraged by what emerged in the trial that they voted Broaca"s wife a $1,000 World Series share.
His hiatus from baseball extended into the entire 1938 season.
lieutenant was rumored at the time that Broaca"s wife was involved in affairs with a number of his Yankees teammates. The Yankees were willing to bring him back in 1938, but reneged on his demand to cover his medical expenses. In 1939, the Yankees traded his rights to the Cleveland Indians.
He was used primarily as a reliever, and he appeared in 22 games with a 4-2 record.
However, by this time it was apparent his arm was giving out. He"d had arm trouble since at least his collegiate days.
After the season, he was traded to the New York Giants. However, by this time it was obvious he was finished.
The Giants traded him back to the Indians in June, and the Indians promptly released him.
After working on the home front in World World War II, Broaca spent most of the rest of his life as a common laborer on road construction crews. His coworkers learned early on never to ask him about baseball.