Frank Zupo

Frank Joseph Zupo
(Noodles)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 182 lb.
• High School Sacred Heart High School (San Francisco)
• Debut July 1, 1957
• Final Game May 9, 1961
• Born August 29, 1939 in San Francisco, CA USA
• Died March 25, 2005 in Burlingame, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Frank Zupo, who was sometimes called "Noodles Zupo", had a brief major league career that started at age 17 and ended at age 21.

Gus Triandos owned the catcher position on the Baltimore Orioles at the time Zupo was getting his cups of coffee. However, a variety of players were back-ups in the years 1957-1961.

He was a star player at Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco, CA and was signed as a bonus baby, forcing him to begin his professional career at the major league level.

He played at Stockton in 1960. He was with the Ardmore Rosebuds in 1961.

He is not only a candidate for any "Z" team, but in 1957 he and George Zuverink became the first battery in major league history of pitcher and catcher both with the last name starting with "Z". Ironically, when he made his debut, there were only two players after him in the major leagues' all-time alphabetical listing, Zuverink and Dutch Zwilling, who had retired in 1916. Zuverink was on the mound when Frank made his major league debut as a catcher against the New York Yankees on July 1, 1957.

He is known for his extreme unibrow and is sometimes compared to the man depicted in Andrea Natella's Ever Dream This Man?

Related Sites

• Frank Zupo at the SABR Bio Project