Al Gionfriddo
Al Gionfriddo was born in Dysart, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States on March 8th, 1922 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 81, Al Gionfriddo biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 81 years old, Al Gionfriddo has this physical status:
Albert Francis Gionfriddo (March 8, 1922 – March 14, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder.
Personal life
Gionfriddo died in Solvang, California on March 14, 2003 from a heart attack while golfing, at the age of 81.
Career
Gionfriddo made his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 23, 1944 at the age of 22. He was a career.266 hitter with a.284 record and 74 runs scored for the Pirates in 1945. He was in the majors for four years.
In Game 6 of the 1947 World Series, he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Pirates midway through the 1947 season and is best known for his heroic catch of a drive off the bat of Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees. When Gionfriddo was brought in as a defensive replacement, the Dodgers led the Yankees 8–5 going into the bottom of the 6th inning. When DiMaggio drove the ball to the 415 marker, Snuffy Stirnweiss and Yogi Berra were on base. Gionfriddo raced around the track and caught the ball several steps before collapsing into the bullpen gate. DiMaggio shook his head and slammed the dirt with his fist.
There was no instant replay at the time, and Gionfriddo was widely believed to have robbed DiMaggio of a home run. However, when the game was released later, Gionfriddo was seen catching the ball several steps behind the wall, and therefore robbing DiMaggio of a double or triple rather than a home run. Still photos of the catch contributed to the belief that it was a home run, since the pictures showed Gionfriddo with his glove behind the bullpen gate and the ball inside the glove. However, these photos were taken several seconds after the play ended, when Gionfriddo's momentum had led his arm over the fence.
Gionfriddo was also present in Game 4 of the 1947 Series as Cookie Lavagetto's pinch hit double in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the team was also winning the game when Gionfriddo (who had been playing as a pinch runner for Carl Furillo and stolen second) and Eddie Miksis scored on the play.
Game 6 of the 1947 World Series proved to be Gionfriddo's swan song in the big leagues—he did not participate in Game 7 and then returned to the minor leagues in 1948. Gionfriddo was given the opportunity to play for and control the Drummondville, Quebec Royals of the Class C Provincial League in 1953 after four years with the Dodgers' AAA Montreal Royals and a season with the Class AA Fort Worth Cats. The Royals finished last, and Gionfriddo was recalled as the manager in mid-season. He was unattached with any major-league team, and Gionfriddo was recalled as the manager in mid-season. He rejoined the Dodgers team, playing for their Class B squad in Newport News, Virginia. Gionfriddo, a west coast player, spent three years as the General Manager of the Dodgers' Santa Barbara minor league club before retiring from pro baseball after the 1959 season.