If it hadn’t been for a heart attack, Billy Wojie, 5-foot 11, 175 pounds, would have played longer than seven years for the Raybestos Cardinals of Stratford, CT. But despite suffering a heart attack May 19, 1962, Wojie made the most of his seven years with the Cardinals, earning All-America honors three times (1955, 1961 and 1959) and playing in seven ASA national tourneys. Wojie had started his career in 1948 playing for Columbus Auto Body and joined the Cardinals in 1955 after Auto Body disbanded. Wojie played in his first national tourney in 1953 with Auto Body, but the team was eliminated in two games. Wojie also played for Post 162, Mutt & Jeff, Marlin’s and Arena Grille, all from New Haven , CT, during his 22 year career.With the Cardinals, he had one of his best nationals in 1956, batting .353 (6-fort-17) and driving in a then record 10 runs, but wasn’t named an All-American. He had been a year earlier, making eight putouts and recording 12 assists. In eight nationals, Wojie made 40 putouts, had 44 assists and made only two errors for a fielding percentage of .980. In his first two years with the Cardinals Wojie led in batting with .312 and .290 averages and in RBI in 1956, 1958 and 1959. The team won ASA national championships in 1955 and 1958. He had a seven-season .281 average with the Cardinals, collecting 429 hits in 1,527 at-bats, scoring 239 runs, hitting 74 doubles, 29 triples and 28 homers. After recovering from the heart attack, Wojie came back to manage the Cardinals from 1968-1971, winning national titles in 1969 and 1970 and finishing runner-up in 1971. Wojie passed away June 10, 1979 at age 56.
