Born and raised in the
Detroit area, Kuzava made his Major League debut against the
Detroit Tigers. He was the Indians' starting pitcher for a late-season 1946 game in Cleveland, and over eight innings he gave up just four hits and one earned run. He got no decision, the game lasting 11 innings, with Detroit's
Dizzy Trout pitching all 11 for the victory. He spent most of the 1947 and 1948 seasons in the minor leagues before making it in the majors with the White Sox in 1949. Kuzava, whose nickname was "Sarge" or "The White Rat," finished fourth in voting for the 1949
American League Rookie of the Year for having a 10–6 record for the
Chicago White Sox, with nine complete games. He had served as a
military policeman in
India and Burma during
World War II. Kuzava helped the Yankees win three consecutive World Series from 1951–53. He gained
saves in the final games of both the
1951 World Series against the
New York Giants (Game 6) and
1952 against the
Brooklyn Dodgers (Game 7). He pitched in the ninth inning of a
1953 World Series Game 5 victory for the Yankees as well. Although his success in the World Series came in relief, Kuzava was a starting pitcher for the Yankees for three seasons, throwing 12 complete games. He joined them on June 15, 1951, with the Washington Senators trading him to New York for three players, and proceeded to earn three championship rings as a Yankee. In a ten-season career, Kuzava had a 49–44 win–loss record, 13 saves, 446 strikeouts and a 4.05
earned run average (ERA). ==Death==