American baseball player (1907-1997)
Baseball player
Dolph Camilli
|
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First baseman
|
Born:
(
1907-04-23
)
April 23, 1907
San Francisco, California
, U.S.
|
Died:
October 21, 1997
(1997-10-21)
(aged 90)
San Mateo, California
, U.S.
|
|
|
September 9, 1933, for the Chicago Cubs
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|
September 23, 1945, for the Boston Red Sox
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Batting average
| .277
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Home runs
| 239
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 950
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Adolph Louis Camilli
(April 23, 1907 ? October 21, 1997) was an American
first baseman
in
Major League Baseball
who spent most of his career with the
Philadelphia Phillies
and
Brooklyn Dodgers
. He was named the
National League
's
Most Valuable Player
in
1941
after leading the league in
home runs
and
runs batted in
as the Dodgers won the pennant for the first time since 1920. He was the ninth National League player to hit 200 career home runs, and held the Dodgers franchise record for career home runs from 1942 to 1953. His son
Doug
was a major league
catcher
in the 1960s.
[1]
His brother, who
boxed
under the name
Frankie Campbell
, died of a
cerebral hemorrhage
following a 1930 match with
Max Baer
.
[2]
Major league career
[
edit
]
Born and raised in
San Francisco, California
, Camilli attended
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
.
[3]
[4]
He had an eight-year
minor league
career before making his major league debut with the
Chicago Cubs
at the end of the
1933
season. He was traded to the Phillies in June 1934, and in each year from 1935 to 1937 he hit 25 or more home runs,
batting
a career-high .339 and leading the National League in
on-base percentage
in the last season. But he also had a free-swinging style that led to numerous
strikeouts
; in his
1934
rookie season, he tied
Hack Wilson
's modern National League record of 94 strikeouts, and in
1935
he set a new league mark with 113.
In March 1938, Camilli was traded to the Dodgers in a move that new general manager
Larry MacPhail
hoped would spark a change in the team's image from
lovable losers
to solid contenders. He drove in 100 or more runs in four of the next five seasons, being named an
All-Star
in 1939 and 1941 and becoming team
captain
. He also led the National League in
walks
in 1938 and 1939, but in the latter year became the first player to have three 100-strikeout seasons. In 1941, he again led the league with 115 strikeouts and also surpassed
Rabbit Maranville
's National League career record of 756. He also set career-highs in home runs (34) and runs batted in (120), leading the league in both categories and earning Most Valuable Player award. However, in the
1941 World Series
, he batted just .167 with only 1 run batted in as the Dodgers lost to the
New York Yankees
in five games.
In
1942
, he finished second in the National League in home runs and runs batted in. That year, he also broke
Zack Wheat
's club record of 131 career home runs (
Gil Hodges
surpassed his final total of 139 in
1953
, and
Duke Snider
broke his mark for left-handed batters later the same year). In July 1943 Camilli was traded to the
New York Giants
, but he refused to report to the Dodgers' hated rivals;
[1]
instead, he
managed
the
Oakland Oaks
of the
Pacific Coast League
in 1944?45 before joining the
Boston Red Sox
in mid-
1945
, batting .212 with two home runs in his last season.
In a 12-season career, Camilli posted a .277 batting average with 239 home runs and 950 runs batted in during 1490
games played
. After leading the National League in
errors
in both 1934 and 1935, and setting a record with three errors in one inning in 1935, he improved his defense and later led the league in
assists
and
fielding percentage
once each. He recorded a .990 fielding percentage playing every inning in his major league career at first base. He also ended his career with 961 strikeouts, more than any player except
Babe Ruth
(1330) and
Jimmie Foxx
(1311); his National League record of 923 was broken by Gil Hodges in
1958
. Among his career highlights was recording the last out of Ruth's career.
Later life
[
edit
]
Following his playing career, Camilli returned to the Pacific Coast League and managed the Oaks and
Sacramento Solons
, as well as several other minor league teams, winning a pennant with Spokane in 1948. He later was a
scout
for the Yankees and
California Angels
before finishing his baseball career as a spring training instructor for the Angels.
Camilli was inducted into the Dodgers Hall of Fame in
1984
, and recalled of his fans, "All they cared about was their family, their job and the Dodgers. And I don't know which one was the most important."
Camilli died in
San Mateo, California
at age 90. He was buried at
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
in
Colma, California
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"The Ballplayers ? Dolf Camilli"
Archived
August 23, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
.
baseballlibrary.com
. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^
Jarrett, John (2017). "Death Stalks the Ring".
Max Baer: Clown Prince of Boxing
(ebook ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Pitch Publishing.
ISBN
9781785312977
.
- ^
Trezza, Joe (February 2, 2017).
"Who are the top 5 all-time players from San Francisco?"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on October 26, 2022
. Retrieved
April 2,
2024
.
- ^
"Dolph Camilli"
.
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
. Archived from
the original
on April 2, 2024
. Retrieved
April 2,
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]