Al Gionfriddo

Albert Francis Gionfriddo

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 6", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Cresson Joint High School
• Debut September 23, 1944
• Final Game September 28, 1947
• Born March 8, 1922 in Dysart, PA USA
• Died March 14, 2003 in Solvang, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Al Gionfriddo was an outfielder who played four years in the major leagues. Although famous for a catch made while he was with the Brooklyn Dodgers, most of his games were with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was a regular in 1945.

He was the 7th of 13 children born to an immigrant Sicilian family in a coal mining district of central Pennsylvania, near Altoona, PA. Al and Carl Furillo, who became teammates on the 1947 Dodgers, were born on the same day, March 8, 1922, and both born in Pennsylvania.

While still in the minors, Gionfriddo entered the Army in February 1943 and was discharged in January 1944. Al would eventually compile 12 years in the minors, of which four were with the Montreal Royals.

He is best remembered for making a one-handed catch against the bullpen in Game 6 of the 1947 World Series. Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees drove the ball deep to left field. Had it gone over the fence, it would have tied the game, but Gionfriddo caught the ball to preserve the Dodgers' lead and force a Game 7. DiMaggio, in a rare show of frustration, kicked the dirt just before he reached second base. The Yankees would eventually win the Series, but if not for Gionfriddo, the Series may not have gone to a seventh game.

For Al Gionfriddo, it was a curtain call on a brief and unremarkable career. After Game 6, he never appeared in another major league game but Red Barber's call and the accompanying video has outlasted Barber, DiMaggio, and Gionfriddo.

The Barber call: "Here's the pitch, swung on -- belted! It's a long one deep into left center -- back goes Gionfriddo! Back- back-back-back-back-back... he makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Ohhh-hooo, Doctor!"

After his World Series heroics, Gionfriddo was sent to the minors where he stayed until retiring after the 1956 season. The San Francisco Giants named him a scout for central California in late 1960. After the 1961 season, he became general manager of the minor-league club in Santa Barbara, where he lived for many years.

After the 1964 season, Al went into the restaurant business. In 1974, he became an athletic equipment manager and trainer at San Marcos (CA) High School in Santa Barbara. On the side, he was a part-time scout for the Cincinnati Reds for a few years in the mid-1970s. He retired in 1988, but continued to enjoy golf. He passed away from a sudden massive heart attack on March 14, 2003 while playing golf at his home course - Alisol Country Club. He was 81. The day before, he had shot five strokes below his age.

Further Reading

• Kevin Cook: Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever, Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan, New York, NY, 2017. ISBN 9781250116567

Related Sites

• Al Gionfriddo at the SABR Bio Project`