Tenace Wins October Hickock Award Vote

Article taken from The Zanesville Times Recorder, November 17, 1972

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NEW YORK (UPI)-- Gene Tenace, a man who once appeared the least likely candidate to share a power hitting record with Babe Ruth, was named Thursday as the October winner in the monthly balloting for the 23rd annual S. Rae Hickock "Professional Athlete of the Year" Award.

Tenace powered the Oakland A's to a seven-game World Series victory over Cincinnati with a .348 performance in which he slugged four home runs and drove in nine runs including two in the A's 3-2 triumph in the finale.

The four home runs tied a Series record held by Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Duke Snider and Hank Bauer.

The 25-year-old catcher from Lucasville, Ohio only .225 during the regular season and cracked just five home runs in 82 contests.

Tenace won easily in the voting by the nation's sportswriters and sportscasters, gathering 83 first-place voters and 263 total points.