Bradley great athlete Zack Monroe passes away at age 94

[Da Coach]

A great Bradley athlete, former basketball and baseball player Zack Monroe, passed away today at the age of 94.
Zack was a local Peoria guy whose father Zack Monroe, Sr. was well known in Peoria as a barber (he founded the Peoria Barber College), and then as a local politician, serving as a Peoria City Council Member, and then as a long time Supervisor of General Assistance for Peoria Township.

Zack, Jr., born in 1921, was an outstanding athlete at Woodruff High School, and then at Bradley University. He played one season as a reserve on the 1950-51 Bradley basketball team that was coached by Forddy Anderson. That team went 32-6 that season. Some of Zack's teammates included Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre, Billy Mann, and Stan Albeck (1950-51 Roster). He excelled at baseball each year at Bradley as a pitcher. After graduating, he signed with the New York Yankees. After spending a few years in the Yankees' minor leagues, interrupted by 2 years in military service, he was promoted to the MLB NY Yankees and pitched for them in parts of the 1958 and 1959 seasons. Zack pitched for the 1958 World Series Champion Yankees and received a World Series ring for his participation on that Championship 1958 team.
Condolences to Zack's family.

Zack Monroe Wikipedia page- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Monroe
Major League stats from Baseball-Reference.com- https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/monroza01.shtml

 

[Dubl R 1]

A great Bradley athlete, former basketball and baseball player Zack Monroe, passed away today at the age of 94.
Zack was a local Peoria guy whose father Zack Monroe, Sr. was well known in Peoria as a barber (he founded the Peoria Barber College), and then as a local politician, serving as a Peoria City Council Member, and then as a long time Supervisor of General Assistance for Peoria Township.

Zack, Jr., born in 1921, was an outstanding athlete at Woodruff High School, and then at Bradley University. He played one season as a reserve on the 1950-51 Bradley basketball team that was coached by Forddy Anderson. That team went 32-6 that season. Some of Zack's teammates included Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre, Billy Mann, and Stan Albeck (1950-51 Roster). He excelled at baseball each year at Bradley as a pitcher. After graduating, he signed with the New York Yankees. After spending a few years in the Yankees' minor leagues, interrupted by 2 years in military service, he was promoted to the MLB NY Yankees and pitched for them in parts of the 1958 and 1959 seasons. Zack pitched for the 1958 World Series Champion Yankees and received a World Series ring for his participation on that Championship 1958 team.
Condolences to Zack's family.

Zack Monroe Wikipedia page- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Monroe
Major League stats from Baseball-Reference.com

think he was born in 1931

 

[Da Coach]

think he was born in 1931

Yes, thanks for the correction. He was born July 8, 1931.
Here are his major league stats that got omitted from my initial post-
Major League stats from Baseball-Reference.com- https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/monroza01.shtml
Minor League stats are a little more impressive- https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=monroe001zac

Zack was a terrific guy. I know his family and got to meet him a couple times. He got to play with and know all those great Yankees of the 1950's, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Bill Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, Casey Stengal, etc.
He suffered a shoulder injury by his second Major League season (1959), and you can see his numbers declined. He tried to work his way back through the minors, but never made it back to the big leagues. Back then, the treatment for injuries was not like it is today. Pitchers rarely came back from shoulder injuries.
1959 Topps baseball card......................1960 Topps

 

[Da Coach]

One other interesting story Zack told... in 1960, he played in Cuba for the Havana Sugar Kings of the International League. Fidel Castro had just lead the Cuban Revolution and become the leader of Cuba. He was a big baseball fan and attended games. Zack met him when he was playing there. Late that 1960 season, the team relocated to Jersey City because of political instability in Havana.

 

[Nashville Cat]

Yes, thanks for the correction. He was born July 8, 1931.
Here are his major league stats that got omitted from my initial post-
Major League stats from Baseball-Reference.com- https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/monroza01.shtml
Minor League stats are a little more impressive- https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=monroe001zac

Zack was a terrific guy. I know his family and got to meet him a couple times. He got to play with and know all those great Yankees of the 1950's, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Bill Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, Casey Stengal, etc.
He suffered a shoulder injury by his second Major League season (1959), and you can see his numbers declined. He tried to work his way back through the minors, but never made it back to the big leagues. Back then, the treatment for injuries was not like it is today. Pitchers rarely came back from shoulder injuries.
1959 Topps baseball card......................1960 Topps

View attachment 529307 View attachment 529308

I was a frequent patron of his dad's barber college-the $1 chair-where poor kids got their hair cut.

 

[Da Coach]

As noted above, former Bradley basketball and baseball player Zack Monroe, passed away January 19, 2026 at the age of 94 (see top post).
Zack Monroe obituary- https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/zack-monroe-obituary?id=60858225
Zack played on the 1950-51 Bradley basketball team, along with Squeaky Melchiorre, Billy Mann, Stan Albeck, and other Bradley basketball greats. But he made his name at Bradley as a terrific baseball player. After one season on the varsity basketball team, Zack focused on baseball, where he was a terrific pitcher for legendary Bradley baseball coach Leo Schrall. He signed with the New York Yankees his junior year in 1952, and played in their system from 1952-1962, playing with some of the all-time greatest baseball players on the 1950's NY Yankees. His time in the Yankees' minor leagues was interrupted by military service, but after Zack returned in 1955, he had a stellar career in the Yankees minor leagues. He pitched in parts of 2 seasons with the Yankees, 1958 and 1959, and he pitched in the World Series, and earned a World Series Championship ring with the 1958 Yankees.
Stats- https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=monroe001zac

Zack was born and raised in Peoria, and remained a lifelong Peorian. He still has family in the Peoria area, and they are hosting a Celebration of Life Memorial Service at 12:00 Noon on Monday, March 23, at First United Methodist Church, 116 North Perry Ave., in downtown Peoria.
The service will include remarks from Bradley President, James Shadid, among others who knew Zack and the Monroe family.
The family has asked me to post this information here on Bradleyfans.com, and invite anyone, including Bradley grads, Bradley fans, or anyone who knew Zack or his family, to attend the service. The general public is also invited.