Al Brancato

Albert Brancato
(Bronk)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 188 lb.
• High School South Philadelphia High School
• Debut September 7, 1939
• Final Game September 19, 1945
• Born May 29, 1919 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died June 14, 2012 in Media, PA USA

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Biographical Information

“There’s no telling how good that boy is going to be.” - Connie Mack, The Sporting News, June 27, 1940

Al Brancato played four years in the majors with the Philadelphia Athletics and was the team's starting shortstop for two seasons prior to World War II.

Signed by the A's out of high school, Brancato hit .279 with 5 homers with the Williamsport Grays in his second pro season, 1939, while leading the Eastern League with 98 RBI. Based on this success, he earned a September call up to the majors, and he made his debut September 7th, going hitless against Ken Chase of the Washington Senators. Facing the Senators again on September 26th, he went 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI, and he hit his first major league homer on the season's final day (again against Washington). Overall, he hit .206 in 21 games in his first taste of big league ball.

Brancato was the starting shortstop for Philadelphia for the next two years, hitting .191 in 1940 and .234 in 1941, and was teammates with players such as Sam Chapman, Bob Johnson, Wally Moses, Frankie Hayes, Dick Siebert, Benny McCoy and Phil Marchildon. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and he served for more than three years. After the war, he returned briefly to the A's late in the 1945 season. Brancato played eight more seasons in the minors after his big league days, mostly in the American Association (notably with the St. Paul Saints). In his final year, he was player-manager for the Elmira Pioneers in the Brooklyn Dodgers chain, going 70-80 and finishing in fifth place in the Eastern League.

Brancato later was the head coach at Saint Joseph's University from 1959 to 1964. Many years later, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society, he reminisced about how the long train rides helped the players bond during card games and in the diner car. See A's Historical Society and pictures of Al Brancato

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Playoffs	Notes
1953	Elmira Pioneers	Eastern League	70-80	5th

Related Sites

• Al Brancato at the SABR Bio Project
• Al Brancato obituary
• Baseball in Wartime
• From Southern to Shibe Park