Gene is half of the fine second base combination the Cubs possess. Although he first joined the Cubs in 1953 at the end of the season to appear in 7 games for the major leaguers, 1954 was his first full year in the majors. He batted .275 for 135 games and had 32 doubles, 5 triples and 13 homers to his credit. He also batted in 61 runs. He began in organized baseball in 1950, appearing with three teams. The last of these was the Los Angeles team in the Pacific Coast League. He remained with them, until coming to the majors. He was always a shortstop until he joined the Cubs.