Jerry Casale

Gennaro Joseph Casale

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Manual Training High School (Brooklyn)
• Debut September 14, 1958
• Final Game July 22, 1962
• Born September 27, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died February 9, 2019 in Paramus, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"I believe I hit the longest home run ever by a Boston player. I hit it over the center field wall over the screen, under the flag. The ball left the park. It was a three-run homer and it happened in my first big league start." - Jerry Casale, on his first big league home run, off Russ Kemmerer of the Washington Senators on April 15, 1959 at Fenway Park

Right-handed pitcher Jerry Casale was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season. He progressed rapidly through the system, winning 14 games in his first season with the San Jose Red Sox and followed with a 14-8 record for the Albany Senators of the Eastern League in 1954. In 1955, Jerry went 17-11 with a 2.96 ERA for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association. The Boston press projected him to be the third or fourth starter in 1956 on a Red Sox staff that included Tom Brewer, Frank Sullivan and Ike Delock. Uncle Sam thought otherwise, hitting him with a draft notice. The Red Sox applied for a deferment and Jerry had a great spring training, receiving news that his deferment was accepted. He was ready to come north except manager Pinky Higgins called him into his office and gave him the news he would heading t the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. Casale answered with a 19-11 record for the 6th-place Seals.

Casale spent most of the next two seasons (1957 and 1958) in the United States military, returning to make his debut with two games in 1958, pitching three innings with no decisions. Jerry had a full year in 1959, when he went 13-8 for the Sox, including three shutouts and three home runs. His four-baggers came against Bob Turley, Russ Kemmerer and Early Wynn. The one against Kemmerer has survived in Red Sox lore, coming in his first big league start. Jerry developed arm problems in 1960, went 2-9, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the expansion draft. The Angels immediately traded Casale to the Detroit Tigers for Jim Donohue. He finished his five-year major league career with the Tigers in 1962 with a career mark of 17-24 and a 4.66 ERA. He played in the minors in 1963 where he finished his eight-year minor league run with the Buffalo Bisons with a career 81-55 mark with a 4.38 ERA.

Casale was in the restaurant business for over thirty years. His establishment, Pino's, was located in New York City on East 34th street. He used to give customers his business card which was a replica of his 1959 Topps rookie card. He died 2019 at 85.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s
BR Minors page

Further Reading

• Tom Larwin: "Jerry Casale", in Mark Armour and Bill Nowlin, eds.: Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 28-35. ISBN 978-1933599243

Related Sites

• Jerry Casale at the SABR Bio Project