Larry Ciaffone

Lawrence Thomas Ciaffone
(Symphony Larry)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut April 17, 1951
• Final Game May 3, 1951
• Born August 17, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died December 14, 1991 in Brooklyn, NY USA
  

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder/catcher Larry Ciaffone was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1946 season and played with the Newport News Dodgers in the Piedmont League, where he hit .281 with 6 homers in 136 games. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals on November 5, 1946 in the minor league draft. Larry spent five years in the minors (1946-1950) before getting a call from the big league Cardinals in 1951. Larry had a top-notch year in 1948 when he hit a league-leading .373 with 14 homers for the Allentown Cardinals of the Interstate League and was the catcher on the league's the All-Star team. Again with Allentown in 1949, he hit .323 with 15 homers and, the following year, had another good season with the Rochester Red Wings, helping his team to the International League pennant, hitting .324 with 10 homers.

Larry was a career minor leaguer, with the exception of 5 games with the Cardinals in 1951, during which he was hitless in five at-bats and made a putout in the outfield. Ciaffone spent the rest of 1951 with Rochester where he finished the year hitting .240. Larry played four more seasons in the high minors, having a good year in 1953 with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League hitting .304 in 141 games. Larry finished his career in 1955 with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association. In 978 minor league games, he hit .304 with 65 home runs.

Larry remained in baseball as a scout for the Cardinals and the New York Mets. He also worked with former Boston Braves star Tommy Holmes in Brooklyn youth baseball programs. Outside of baseball, he owned a Brooklyn restaurant for several years and worked in sales for the Pitney-Bowles Corporation. Ciaffone died in Brooklyn on December 14, 1991 at 67.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page