Leonard “Ab” Wisneski

• Post by: mcalibrary
• December 20, 2023
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INDUCTEE

“ABAJAB” was one of Mt. Carmel’s great all-around athletes. He was outstanding in every sport, in every season. And even though he excelled at football and basketball, when you saw him in action you felt “what God has in mind here was a baseball player”.

After high school he attended Wake Forest on a football scholarship…but ran into the same problem so many of our athletes faced at the time…a combination of homesickness, a war in progress, and a family at home who needed the help of another provider.

He tried out with the Yankees and decided his chances might be better after getting his service obligation out of the way. He joined the Army in 1948 and while in Okinawa became such a local legend that the Army held a parade in his honor. He led the base teams in football, basketball, baseball and even volleyball.

After completing his service obligation he signed with the Phillies and played with the Wilmington Blue Rocks. A year later he was promoted to Salt Lake City where he led the Salt Lake City Bees to the league championship.

He later played in the Pioneer League where he competed against some future major leaguers like Frank Robinson and John Roseboro. He continued his minor league career until 1954 when he decided to return home.

He quickly became a local sports legend playing with the Star Lane Nylons a local semipro power…and later with the Locust Gap Apollos a basketball team which became a colossus in the way it dominated its opposition.

He currently lives in Mt. Carmel, surrounded by his four children and 3 grandchildren. He now uses golf as an outlet for those competitive juices.