American third baseman in Major League Baseball, nicknamed “Lucky”, who played for the New York Giants (1947–1951) and Philadelphia Phillies (1952–1953). During his playing career, he stood 6′ (183 cm) tall, weighed 180 pounds (81.7 kg) and threw and batted right-handed.
Lohrke earned the nickname “Lucky” not only because it sounded similar to his last name, but because he repeatedly escaped death by sheer good luck during his life.
As a US soldier in World War II, he survived a troop train crash that killed three and injured dozens more, as well as the Normandy landings, the Battle of the Bulge and extensive combat throughout Europe, including having the soldier next to him killed on four occasions.
Lohrke’s good fortune continued when he returned from the war to the United States. Having to concede his plane seat to higher-ranked military personnel, he was bumped at the last moment from the passenger list of a military transport plane scheduled to fly from Camp Kilmer, New Jersey to his home in Los Angeles – the plane crashed, killing everyone on board.
After Lohrke left baseball, he worked for the Lockheed Corporation in California and eventually retired as the firm’s head of security. Lohrke died at a hospital in San Jose, California on 29 April 2009, aged 85, two days after suffering a stroke.
Link to Wikipedia biography