William Joseph Skowron was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is of Polish descent. His father was a garbage collector. His friends called him "Mussolini" as a joke, after his grandfather gave him a haircut which looked like the dictator's, but his family shortened the nickname to "Moose." The name stuck throughout his career.
He went to Purdue University on a football scholarship, but found himself better suited to baseball when he hit .500 as a sophomore, a record in the Big Ten Conference that lasted ten years.

Signed by the New York Yankees in 1950 as an amateur free agent, he played his first game for the Yankees on April 13, 1954. He wore uniform number 53 in the 1954 season, but switched to #14 in 1955 and stayed with that number for the rest of his years with the Yankees. In the beginning, he was platooned at first base with Joe Collins, but from 1958 on he became the Yankees' full time first baseman. He played in five All-Star Games as a Yankee: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1961.

On November 26, 1962 he was traded by the Yankees to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Stan Williams. He kept his Yankee uniform number, 14, on the Dodgers.

On December 6, 1963 he was purchased from the Dodgers by the Washington Senators (currently the Texas Rangers). The Senators gave him uniform number 3.

On July 13, 1964 he was traded by the Senators to the Chicago White Sox. He took uniform number 5 on the Sox at first, but with the 1965 season went back to his old uniform number on the Yankees and Dodgers, 14. In 1965 he once more got to play in the All-Star Game.

On May 6, 1967 he was traded by the White Sox to the California Angels. He kept his uniform number 14 on the Angels. He was released by the Angels on October 9, 1967.

He played in a total of 1478 games, all but 15 as a first baseman. (He was in 13 games as a third baseman and two as a second baseman.) Skowron made the last out of the 1957 World Series, but the following year knocked in the winning run in game six of the '58 World Series. Skowron also hit a 3-run home run in game seven to propel the Yankees to a World Series win, and a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.

Though he did play for other teams in his 14-year career, Moose Skowron can truly take pride in the 9 seasons he spent in pinstripes. In those 9 years, the Yankees won 7 AL Pennants and 5 World Series Championships. In 39 World Series games, he hit .293 with 8 HRs and 29 RBIs. His highlights include a game-winning grand slam in Game 7 or the 1956 series and a game-winning HR in game 6 of the 1958 series. He faced the Yankees in the 1963 World Series as a member of the Dodgers.

Skowron was a 5-time All-Star and finished 9th in the MVP voting in 1960. His career included stops with the Yankees (1954-62), the Dodgers (1963), the Senators (1964), the White Sox (1964-67) and the Angels (1967).

Skowron signed a contract with the Yankees in 1951. He joined the major league club in 1954 and hit over .300 in his first four seasons. His career also included 4 seasons of 20 or more home runs.
In 1957, Skowron hit two pinch-hit grand slams during the season to set a major league record.
Today, he works for the Chicago White Sox in the community relations department and he also runs a fantasy camp that includes such Yankees stars as Bobby Richardson, Ron Guidry, Tom Tresh and others.