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For a two-week stretch in 1955, the starting infield for the Cardinals was first baseman Stan Musial, second baseman Red Schoendienst, third baseman Ken Boyer and a rookie shortstop, Bob Stephenson.

Rising to the challenge, Stephenson hit and fielded consistently well in his short stint as a starter flanked by star-studded teammates.

A smooth fielder with a strong arm and speed, Stephenson showed his skills at the highest level of the sport, but 1955 was his lone year in the major leagues.

Oklahoma Sooner

Stephenson was born in Blair, Okla., a town with a population of fewer than 1,000 in the southwest corner of the state. In 1928, the year of Stephenson’s birth, a tornado tore through Blair and left hundreds homeless, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. Stephenson’s parents grew cotton and wheat.

Stephenson enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, played varsity baseball for his mentor, head coach Jack Baer, and majored in geology.

“Jack Baer gave me the best training you can get in college in the fundamentals (of baseball),” Stephenson told the Associated Press.

In an interview with the Norman (Okla.) Transcript, Stephenson recalled making two errors in his first college game. After the second, he slammed down his glove. Baer confronted Stephenson in the dugout and said, “I don’t ever want to see you do that again. You’ve got to control your emotions when you play sports. I think you could possibly be a pretty good ballplayer, but if you’re going to continue to play like that I don’t want any part of you.”

“I never forgot that,” a grateful Stephenson said.

A shortstop for Oklahoma, Stephenson got offers from multiple major-league teams. In June 1950, he chose the Cardinals, he said, because their scout, Fred Hawn, encouraged him to stay in school and not sign until he was ready. Stephenson said he also figured the Cardinals would need a shortstop to replace Marty Marion, who was nearing the end of his playing career.

Stephenson also got married in 1950 to Norma, his childhood sweetheart. The marriage lasted 70 years until his death.

Right stuff

In 1951, as shortstop for the Cardinals’ Omaha farm club, Stephenson was flanked by Ken Boyer at third base and Earl Weaver, the future Hall of Fame manager, at second. Omaha’s manager was respected instructor George Kissell, who took a liking to Stephenson and another former Oklahoma player, pitcher Jack Shirley.

“George called me over as we were packing up one day,” Stephenson recalled. “He said, ‘Whenever you get back to Norman, you go see Jack Baer and tell him you and Jack Shirley were the best-prepared kids I ever coached.”

After two years (1952-53) in the Army, Stephenson played for manager Johnny Keane at Columbus (Ohio) in 1954.

At spring training in 1955, Stephenson impressed Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky and opened the season as backup to shortstop Alex Grammas.

The Sporting News described Stephenson as “one of the best-fielding infielders the Cardinals have called up in years. He’s slender, fast, has a good arm and is a big-league fielder.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch added, “If he could handle a bat as well as he fields, he could make almost any ball club.”

Stephenson’s first major-league hit contributed to a winning rally against the Reds on April 19, 1955, at St. Louis. In the 11th inning, with runners on second and first, none out, and the score tied at 5-5, Stephenson was ordered to bunt and “pushed the ball skillfully along the third-base stripe,” the Post-Dispatch reported. Before a play could be made, Stephenson streaked to first with a single, loading the bases. The next batter, Bill Sarni, poked a hit through a draw-in infield, driving in the winning run. Boxscore

Hot stretch

On May 28, 1955, the Cardinals fired Stanky and replaced him with Harry Walker, who was managing their Rochester farm club.

A couple of weeks later, after Grammas broke his right thumb, Walker moved Boyer to shortstop and put Solly Hemus at third base. A few days later, Stephenson took over at shortstop.

Stephenson made his first start on June 21, 1955, against the Phillies at St. Louis, joining an infield with Musial, Schoendienst and Boyer. Batting leadoff, Stephenson had three hits and a stolen base. Boxscore

Stephenson batted .341 in 12 games from June 21 through July 3. He produced 15 hits in those games and made one error.

Stephenson “has bunted and slashed with surprising results” and “run with daring speed,” The Sporting News reported. He also displayed “ground-covering, sure-handed defensive play.”

Walker told the Associated Press, “He has a wonderful arm, a little stronger than Grammas. His range is a little better than Grammas, too.”

Said Stephenson: “Harry changed me from a pull hitter to a punch hitter.”

New direction

A groin injury knocked Stephenson from the lineup on July 4, 1955, and Grammas replaced him. Stephenson got some starts after the all-star break but slumped. After batting .341 in July, he hit .080 in August and finished at .243 in 67 games.

After the season, the Cardinals brought in Frank Lane as general manager and Fred Hutchinson replaced Walker. Stephenson was playing winter ball in Havana when he learned the Cardinals dropped him from their 40-man roster.

“I wanted to quit,” Stephenson told The Daily Ardmore (Okla.) newspaper, “but decided to give it another try.”

Stephenson went to Cardinals spring training in 1956 and was assigned to start the season at Omaha.

Determined to reshape the Cardinals, Lane made a stunning trade on June 14, 1956, sending Schoendienst to the Giants. The key player the Cardinals got in return was shortstop Al Dark.

Three days later, Stephenson was sent to the Giants as a player to be named in the Schoendienst deal. In effect, Stephenson was loaned to the Giants, who needed a shortstop at their Minneapolis farm club to replace Eddie Bressoud, who got promoted to the big leagues after Dark was dealt. The transaction reunited Stephenson with Stanky, who was the Minneapolis manager.

After the season, Stephenson was returned to the Cardinals, who sold his contract to Toronto, an unaffiliated minor-league team.

Stephenson, 28, decided to quit baseball and use his degree in geology to take a job in the oil business.

“I felt like I had reached a standstill in baseball,” Stephenson said. “There isn’t any room in the big leagues for a .240 sticker and I knew I would never be a good hitter.”

After working as a geologist with the Pure Oil Company, Stephenson co-founded Potts-Stephenson Exploration Company. He and business partner Ray Potts became leaders in the field of petroleum exploration. In the 1980s, Stephenson expanded his business interests, buying multiple radio stations in Oklahoma.