Al Ronning

Albert Roy Ronning

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6'1", Weight 190 lbs.
• High School Arlington (WA) High School

• Born September 21, 1926 in Arlington, WA USA
• Died October 10, 2013 in Sunnyvale, CA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Catcher Al Ronning played in the minors from 1947 to 1960, managed in the minors for nine seasons, and was a scout for 35 seasons.

Ronning, a native of Arlington, WA, graduated from Arlington (WA) High School in 1944 and enlisted in the Navy. The destroyer he was assigned to broke its starboard shaft and was sent to the San Diego Naval Repair Base, where a scout spotted Ronning catching for the Base team. This led to Ronning being signed by the Bremerton Bluejackets of the Western International League.

He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization after the 1950 season, and assigned to the Pueblo Dodgers of the Western League. At Pueblo, he married his first wife, Christena, in a ceremony at home plate; his best man was pitcher Roy Face.

Having been among the batting leaders for several months (before tailing off to finish at .298), Ronning was promoted to the Montreal Royals of the International League for 1952. But he struggled to hit in the higher classifications. Ronning blamed this on a severe virus he contracted while playing for the Fort Worth Cats in the Texas League in 1953, which dropped his weight from 215 lbs to 160 lbs; however, the .650 OPS he posted in 1953 was the highest OPS of his seven seasons (1952-1958) in AA and AAA ball.

Ronning was a player coach for the Montreal Royals in 1957, and briefly managed the club for a few days in June, as Tommy Holmes took over for Al Campanis. After posting only a .494 OPS for the Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League in 1958, Ronning dropped down to the lower classifications, and began a career as a manager.

After the 1968 season, Ronning joined the expansion Montreal Expos as a scout. He remained with the organization through 1974, and then scouted for the Major League Scouting Bureau from 1975-2002. He was named the West Coast Scout of the Year in 2002. He signed, among others, Jerry White, who spent 10 years with the Expos.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1957	Montreal Royals	International League	2-2	--	Brooklyn Dodgers	--	replaced Al Campanis (6-5) on June 24 replaced by Tommy Holmes (41-44) on June 29
1959	Panama City Fliers	Alabama-Florida League	47-71	6th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1960	Kokomo Dodgers	Midwest League	63-59	4th	Los Angeles Dodgers	none
1961	Great Falls Electrics	Pioneer League	75-58	2nd	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1962	Great Falls Electrics	Pioneer League	60-70	5th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1963	Great Falls Electrics	Pioneer League	69-59	3rd	Los Angeles Dodgers	Lost in st round
1964	Santa Barbara Dodgers	California League	68-71	5th	Los Angeles Dodgers	none
1965	Lewiston Broncs	Northwest League	65-42	1st	Kansas City A's	Lost League Finals	replaced Bill Posedel (3-4)
1966	Burlington (IA) Bees	Midwest League	77-48	3rd	Kansas City A's
1967	Burlington (IA) Bees	Midwest League	56-59	5th	Kansas City A's
1968	Leesburg Athletics	Florida State League	51-92	10th	Kansas City A's