Ben Marmo

Nicholas Charles Marmo (Ben)

Died April 4, 1984 in Little Falls, NY USA

Ben Marmo was a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1950 to 1982 and the Montreal Expos from 1983 until his passing at age 69.

The Philly Connection

Ben Marmo’s connection to the Philadelphia Phillies literally began over 100 years ago with a guy by the name of Chuck Ward. Chuck Ward was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 30, 1894. Chuck started his Major League Baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirate in 1917 then played the next 5 years with the Brooklyn Robins (aka Brooklyn Dodgers). Chuck was a utility infielder playing short, third and second base. His first year was his most productive playing in 125 games with a respectful .236 batting average. After retiring from active baseball and hanging up his spikes, Chuck became a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies. The highlight of Chuck’s career came in 1947 when he scouted Robin Roberts who at the time was playing for Michigan State University and the Twin City Trojans, a semi-pro team. Chuck and the Phillies were so enamored and impressed with Robin Roberts that he signed a contract for $25,000 and the rest is history. Roberts joined the Phillies the following year in 1948 and during his Hall of Fame career, helped lead the Phillies to the 1950 World Series. During his illustrious 19 year career in the majors, Roberts was a 20+ game winner 6 years in a row and 7 time All Star. He led the league in wins four times, in innings pitched five times, and strikeouts twice.  In 1946 and after starting a baseball development league in Paterson, New Jersey, Ben Marmo formed the then famous Uncle Sams’ semi-pro baseball team with the likes of Danny O'Connell,  Carl “Butch” Sawatski and other prospects who later made it to the big leagues. Ben was faced with a crisis that plagued most teams after the war, no uniforms. Most players wore their own uniforms made up of pants and shirts from teams they player for in the past. Even with his sponsor, Uncle Sams, and his contacts with the NY Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Giants, Ben came up short. That’s when he got in touch with an old friend he made within the Philly organization, Chuck Ward. Chuck was able to get Ben old minor league uniforms from the Utica Blue Jays.  Later that year in 1947, as manager of Uncle Sam’s, Ben’s team posted a 50-2 season long record, won the state championship, and received an invitation to the national championship in Wichita, Kansas. Tommy Acker, who went on to fame with the Cincinnati Reds, hurled for Uncle Sam’s along with other major league prospects from that team. Ben and his team left from the Paterson Train Station for their long trip west and brought back memories that lasted a lifetime. To repay his old friend for the uniforms, Ben’s started to “bird dog” for Chuck and the Philadelphia Phillies, for free of course. Two years later, Ben became a regular, paid scout for the Philadelphia Phillies covering the NY/NJ Metropolitan region. Ben went on to scout for the Phillies for the next 32 years culminating his career when Philadelphia won the World Series in 1980 against the Kansas City Royals and awarded his World Series ring. Among the 100+ prospects signed to contracts, notables such as Johnny Briggs and Mike Jackson made it to the big league.