Joseph R. Mellendick was born on February 13, 1917 as the second son of eight and child of nine to William F. and Vera Mellendick of Bayonne, New Jersey. Joe was the last of the New Jersey born children of the couple. He was preceded by Wiliam G. and followed by Edmund, Mary Elizabeth, Charles, twins Leo Patrick & Richmond J., Robert and John. Soon after Joe's birth, his parents relocated to St. Charles, Louisiana where they would be in residence until the Great Depression began. Around this time they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland where brothers Robert and John were born.
Joe was interested in sports, particularly baseball and football while attending Loyola High School in Baltimore. Joe was a starring member of the 1935 Loyola Dons football team. Upon graduation, he was accepted into Georgetown University and became an excellent triple threat player on the 1938 football team which became the first in Hoya history to go undefeated. He was a punter as well as an offensive weapon in the backfield plus a defensive standout.
After graduating from Georgetown in 1940, Joe left collegiate football for the professional baseball diamond. Pro football was an option as Joe was offered a contract with the NFL's Washington Redskins. He signed instead with the Washington Senators and played for various minor league teams including the Greenville Spinners and the Chattanooga Lookouts before joining the Cleveland Indians farm system with the AAA level International League Orioles for the 1945 - 1947 seasons. His best season with the AAA Orioles was in 1946. In 140 games he hit .256 with 18 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The club finished with a respectable 81 - 73 record good for third place that year. Joe finished his baseball playing career with the Cincinnati Reds Sunbury, PA affiliate from in 1948 & 1949.
Joe's coaching career in sports began in 1948 as a basketball, football and baseball coach for his high school alma mater's rival in the Baltimore Catholic League, Calvert Hall. In 1949 he led the Calvert Hall Cardinals basketball team to a 24 - 1 record and the Baltimore Catholic League Championship. One year he found time to be the backfield coach for the John Hopkins University Blue Jays football team. His coaching career eventually included a stint with the American League Baltimore Orioles minor league system. In between his sports coaching in the 1950s Joe was a representative for Renfield importers, known mostly as the suppliers of Gordon's Gin. Along the way Joe was also president of the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association.
Joe was inducted into the Georgetown Hoya Athletic Hall of Fame on February 21, 1975, just six months before his death on August 19, 1975. He also was posthumously inducted into the Loyola Blakefield Athletic Hall of Fame at its inception on February 28, 2002.
Joe was interested in sports, particularly baseball and football while attending Loyola High School in Baltimore. Joe was a starring member of the 1935 Loyola Dons football team. Upon graduation, he was accepted into Georgetown University and became an excellent triple threat player on the 1938 football team which became the first in Hoya history to go undefeated. He was a punter as well as an offensive weapon in the backfield plus a defensive standout.
After graduating from Georgetown in 1940, Joe left collegiate football for the professional baseball diamond. Pro football was an option as Joe was offered a contract with the NFL's Washington Redskins. He signed instead with the Washington Senators and played for various minor league teams including the Greenville Spinners and the Chattanooga Lookouts before joining the Cleveland Indians farm system with the AAA level International League Orioles for the 1945 - 1947 seasons. His best season with the AAA Orioles was in 1946. In 140 games he hit .256 with 18 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The club finished with a respectable 81 - 73 record good for third place that year. Joe finished his baseball playing career with the Cincinnati Reds Sunbury, PA affiliate from in 1948 & 1949.
Joe's coaching career in sports began in 1948 as a basketball, football and baseball coach for his high school alma mater's rival in the Baltimore Catholic League, Calvert Hall. In 1949 he led the Calvert Hall Cardinals basketball team to a 24 - 1 record and the Baltimore Catholic League Championship. One year he found time to be the backfield coach for the John Hopkins University Blue Jays football team. His coaching career eventually included a stint with the American League Baltimore Orioles minor league system. In between his sports coaching in the 1950s Joe was a representative for Renfield importers, known mostly as the suppliers of Gordon's Gin. Along the way Joe was also president of the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association.
Joe was inducted into the Georgetown Hoya Athletic Hall of Fame on February 21, 1975, just six months before his death on August 19, 1975. He also was posthumously inducted into the Loyola Blakefield Athletic Hall of Fame at its inception on February 28, 2002.
Joseph R. Mellendick was born on February 13, 1917 as the second son of eight and child of nine to William F. and Vera Mellendick of Bayonne, New Jersey. Joe was the last of the New Jersey born children of the couple. He was preceded by Wiliam G. and followed by Edmund, Mary Elizabeth, Charles, twins Leo Patrick & Richmond J., Robert and John. Soon after Joe's birth, his parents relocated to St. Charles, Louisiana where they would be in residence until the Great Depression began. Around this time they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland where brothers Robert and John were born.
Joe was interested in sports, particularly baseball and football while attending Loyola High School in Baltimore. Joe was a starring member of the 1935 Loyola Dons football team. Upon graduation, he was accepted into Georgetown University and became an excellent triple threat player on the 1938 football team which became the first in Hoya history to go undefeated. He was a punter as well as an offensive weapon in the backfield plus a defensive standout.
After graduating from Georgetown in 1940, Joe left collegiate football for the professional baseball diamond. Pro football was an option as Joe was offered a contract with the NFL's Washington Redskins. He signed instead with the Washington Senators and played for various minor league teams including the Greenville Spinners and the Chattanooga Lookouts before joining the Cleveland Indians farm system with the AAA level International League Orioles for the 1945 - 1947 seasons. His best season with the AAA Orioles was in 1946. In 140 games he hit .256 with 18 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The club finished with a respectable 81 - 73 record good for third place that year. Joe finished his baseball playing career with the Cincinnati Reds Sunbury, PA affiliate from in 1948 & 1949.
Joe's coaching career in sports began in 1948 as a basketball, football and baseball coach for his high school alma mater's rival in the Baltimore Catholic League, Calvert Hall. In 1949 he led the Calvert Hall Cardinals basketball team to a 24 - 1 record and the Baltimore Catholic League Championship. One year he found time to be the backfield coach for the John Hopkins University Blue Jays football team. His coaching career eventually included a stint with the American League Baltimore Orioles minor league system. In between his sports coaching in the 1950s Joe was a representative for Renfield importers, known mostly as the suppliers of Gordon's Gin. Along the way Joe was also president of the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association.
Joe was inducted into the Georgetown Hoya Athletic Hall of Fame on February 21, 1975, just six months before his death on August 19, 1975. He also was posthumously inducted into the Loyola Blakefield Athletic Hall of Fame at its inception on February 28, 2002.
Joe was interested in sports, particularly baseball and football while attending Loyola High School in Baltimore. Joe was a starring member of the 1935 Loyola Dons football team. Upon graduation, he was accepted into Georgetown University and became an excellent triple threat player on the 1938 football team which became the first in Hoya history to go undefeated. He was a punter as well as an offensive weapon in the backfield plus a defensive standout.
After graduating from Georgetown in 1940, Joe left collegiate football for the professional baseball diamond. Pro football was an option as Joe was offered a contract with the NFL's Washington Redskins. He signed instead with the Washington Senators and played for various minor league teams including the Greenville Spinners and the Chattanooga Lookouts before joining the Cleveland Indians farm system with the AAA level International League Orioles for the 1945 - 1947 seasons. His best season with the AAA Orioles was in 1946. In 140 games he hit .256 with 18 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The club finished with a respectable 81 - 73 record good for third place that year. Joe finished his baseball playing career with the Cincinnati Reds Sunbury, PA affiliate from in 1948 & 1949.
Joe's coaching career in sports began in 1948 as a basketball, football and baseball coach for his high school alma mater's rival in the Baltimore Catholic League, Calvert Hall. In 1949 he led the Calvert Hall Cardinals basketball team to a 24 - 1 record and the Baltimore Catholic League Championship. One year he found time to be the backfield coach for the John Hopkins University Blue Jays football team. His coaching career eventually included a stint with the American League Baltimore Orioles minor league system. In between his sports coaching in the 1950s Joe was a representative for Renfield importers, known mostly as the suppliers of Gordon's Gin. Along the way Joe was also president of the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association.
Joe was inducted into the Georgetown Hoya Athletic Hall of Fame on February 21, 1975, just six months before his death on August 19, 1975. He also was posthumously inducted into the Loyola Blakefield Athletic Hall of Fame at its inception on February 28, 2002.
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