| Carl Furillo | |
|---|---|
 Furillo,c. 1953 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1922-03-08)March 8, 1922 Stony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: January 21, 1989(1989-01-21) (aged 66) Stony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1946, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 7, 1960, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .299 |
| Home runs | 192 |
| Runs batted in | 1,058 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Carl Anthony Furillo (March 8, 1922 – January 21, 1989), nicknamed "the Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj", was an Americanbaseball player who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB), spending his entire career with theBrooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, primarily as aright fielder.
A member of sevenNational League (NL) champion teams between1947 and1959, Furillobatted over .300 five times, winning the1953 batting title, with a .344 average—then the highest by a right-handed hitting Dodger since 1900. Noted for his strong and accurate throwing arm, he recorded ten or moreassists in nine consecutive seasons, leading the league twice, and retired with the fifth-most games in right field (1,408) in NL history.
Furillo was born inStony Creek Mills,Pennsylvania. He was born from Italian immigrants fromCampania. His father was from the province ofCaserta and his mother was from the province ofBenevento.[1]
He was affectionately called "Skoonj", a nickname derived from the Italian wordscungilli ("conch"), which was his favorite dish.[2]
Furillo dropped out of school in the eighth grade and began working in various jobs, including apple-picking and work in awoolen mill. He continued to play baseball in his spare time. After the death of his mother, when he was eighteen, he decided to pursue baseball professionally.[3]
In 1940, Furillo signed with theReading Chicks of theInterstate League, earning one of his nicknames with his powerful arm: "the Reading Rifle"; the Dodgers were sufficiently impressed by his ability that they purchased the entire minor league franchise to acquire him. Following the 1941 season with theReading Brooks (renamed after being acquired by the Dodgers), he was assigned to theMontreal Royals of theInternational League where he batted .281 in 129 games.[4]
Furillo's career was interrupted by theSecond World War. In 1942, he enlisted in theUnited States Army and served for three years. He served in combat in thePacific Theater, receiving three battle stars and thePurple Heart for being wounded in action.[5]
Upon returning from the army, Furillo reported to the Dodgers camp inSanford, Florida for "advanced training" which had been designed for returning servicemen. He made the major leagues in1946. The following season, he batted .295 for the1947 NL pennant winners, finishing the year ninth in the league with 88runs batted in.[6]
Furillo was one of the key members on the Dodgers'1949 champions, hitting .322 (4th in the NL) with 18home runs, and placing among the league's top ten players in RBI (106),slugging average (.506),hits (177),runs (95),triples (10) andtotal bases (278); he finished sixth in the voting for theMVP Award. In 1950 he batted .305 (7th in the league) with 18 home runs, 106 RBI, and a career-high 99 runs. He achieved a personal best with 197 hits, finishing third in the NL for the second year in a row, for the 1951 team which lost a legendary pennant playoff to theNew York Giants; he also batted .295 (9th in the NL) with 91 RBI and 93 runs.[6]
He became skilled at negotiating balls hit off the high right-field wall atEbbets Field, and after he led the NL in assists in both 1950 (18) and 1951 (24), opposing runners were increasingly reluctant to challenge his arm. On August 27, 1951, he threw outPittsburgh Pirates pitcherMel Queen by two feet at first base after Queen had apparently singled into right field. During spring training of 1952, theNew York Journal-American called Furillo "one of the best players in the game," calling his style one of "close mechanical perfection."[7]
Furillo batted only .247 for the1952 pennant winners, though he was selected to his firstAll-Star team.[6] Diagnosed withcataracts, he had surgery in the offseason and returned with perhaps his best season, winning the batting title and collecting 21 home runs and 92 RBI with a career-best 38doubles (3rd in the NL).[8] His .344 average was the highest by a right-handed Dodgers hitter sinceOyster Burns hit .354 in1894;Tommy Davis bettered him with a .346 mark in 1962. He was again named an All-Star, ending the year fifth in the league in slugging (.580), and finished ninth in the MVP balloting.[6]
Furillo's season ended on September 6 against the Giants – he was batting againstRubén Gómez in the second inning, and opposing managerLeo Durocher was yelling for Gomez to "stick it in his ear"; Furillo washit on the wrist by a pitch, and proceeded to first base, but with a 3–2 count on the next batter, Durocher and Furillo charged towards each other. Furillo got Durocher in a headlock, and in the ensuing brawl,Monte Irvin of the Giants stepped on Furillo's hand, fracturing a knuckle on his little finger.[9]
For the1955 champions he was seventh in the league with a .314 average, along with 95 RBI and a career high of 26 homers. With the1956 team which repeated as NL champions, earning the team's seventh pennant in ten years, he slipped to a .289 average but maintained solid power totals with 21 homers, 83 RBI and 30 doubles. He hit .306 in the Dodgers' last season in Brooklyn in 1957, and batted .290 in their first year in Los Angeles, finishing eighth in the league with 83 RBI. With the1959 pennant team, his playing time was reduced to only 50 games, with just 25 of them in the outfield.[6] But he had one last highlight in theplayoff series against theMilwaukee Braves when he beat out a ground ball in the 12th inning of the second and final game, withGil Hodges scoring from second base to win the NL pennant.[10]
The Dodgers released Furillo in May1960 while he was injured with a torn calf muscle; he sued the team, claiming they released him to avoid both the higher pension due a 15-year player and medical expenses, eventually collecting $21,000.[11] He later maintained he was blackballed as a result and was unable to find a job within the sport – a charge denied by CommissionerFord Frick.[12]
Furillo had an excellent1947 World Series, batting .353 in a seven-game loss; he had two RBI and scored a run in a 9–8 Game 3 victory, and scored the run which gave Brooklyn the lead for good in an 8–6 win in Game 6. He preserved a 6–5 victory in Game 5 of the1952 World Series when he made a spectacular catch over the fence of an apparent home run byJohnny Mize – who had already homered three times in the Series – with one out in the eleventh inning.[13]
In the1953 World Series he hit .333, and drove in the tying run in the seventh inning of Game 1, though Brooklyn went on to lose; in the final Game 6, his 2-run homer with one out in the ninth tied the game 3–3, but New York scored in the bottom of the inning to win the game and the Series.[13]
In the victorious 1955 Series he started the scoring with a solo home run in his first at bat of Game 1, which New York won 6–5. In Game 7, he advancedRoy Campanella to third base on a groundout in the fourth inning, with Campanella later scoring, and waswalked intentionally with one out and runners on second and third in the sixth, with another run following on asacrifice fly by Hodges. The two runs held up for a 2–0 victory, and Brooklyn earned the only World Series title in franchise history.[13]
In his 15-year career, Furillo batted .299 with 192 home runs, 1,910 hits, 1,058 RBI, 895 runs, 324 doubles, 56 triples, 48stolen bases, a .458 slugging average and 514walks for a .355on-base percentage. As an outfielder, he had 3,322putouts, 151 assists, 34double plays and 74errors for 3,547total chances and a .979fielding percentage. If he had one more hit in his career, he would have statistically had a .300 batting average.[6]
Furillo played in sevenWorld Series with the Dodgers, six of them against theNew York Yankees, winning in1955 and in1959 against theChicago White Sox. In 40 World Series games, he batted .266 (34-for-128) with 13 runs, 9 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 13 walks.[6]
| Category | G | BA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | PO | A | DP | E | FLD% | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,806 | .299 | 6,378 | 895 | 1,910 | 324 | 56 | 192 | 1,058 | 48 | 50 | 514 | 436 | .355 | .458 | .813 | 2,922 | 3,322 | 151 | 34 | 74 | .979 | [6] |
After retiring as a player, Furillo left the sport for good. While writing his 1972 bookThe Boys of Summer about the 1952 and 1953 pennant-winning teams, authorRoger Kahn located Furillo installing elevators at theWorld Trade Center. During the mid-1960s, he owned and operated a deli inFlushing, Queens. Furillo later worked as a night watchman.[14]
It was later reported by former teammates that Furillo overcame his bitterness towards baseball and became a regular attender of fantasy baseball camps atDodgertown inVero Beach, Florida, towards the end of his life.[15]
Furillo developedleukemia, and died inStony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania, at 66 years of age of an apparentheart attack. He was survived by his wife Fern (née Reichart), his two sisters, his sons, and five grandchildren.[16] He is interred at Forest Hills Memorial Park inReiffton, Pennsylvania. Although Furillo felt that baseball completely forgot about him and his accomplishments, his funeral was attended by a number of his former Dodger teammates, including Hall of FamerSandy Koufax who was once Furillo's roommate as a young pitcher.[17]
Carl Anthony Furillo was born in the same town in which he died—Stony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Reading, on March 8, 1922. The son of Italian immigrant parents, Michael and Filomena Furillo, he dropped out of school after completing the eighth grade.
Carl worked at various jobs, including picking apples and work in a woolen mill. However, he always played ball. After the death of his mother, when he was eighteen, he was able to leave the family to pursue it professionally.
The Army called, and Furillo missed the next three seasons. He served in combat in the Pacific Theater, received three battle stars, and was wounded.
In January 1953, Carl underwent eye surgery to remove cataracts. He responded with the highest batting average of his career, a batting title, a second trip to the All-Star Game, and a ninth-place finish in the Most Valuable Player voting.
Former teammates Sandy Koufax, Joe Black, Johnny Podres, Clem Labine, Billy Loes, Cal Abrams, Carl Erskine, and Peter O'Malley, the Dodgers' owner, attended his funeral at Forest Hills Memorial Park in Reiffton, Pennsylvania.
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