Al Gionfriddo

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Albert Francis "Al" Gionfriddo was born on March 8, 1922 in Dysart, Pennsylvania. He was a slightly built 5' 6" and 165 lb. Major League Baseball outfielder who batted and threw left handed. He debuted in the Majors on September 23, 1944 at the age of 22 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a career .266 hitter whose best year was in 1945 when he hit .284 with 9 triples and 74 runs scored for the Pirates. He played in the Majors for 4 years.

He was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Pirates midway through the 1947 season and he is most famous for his heroic catch of a drive off the bat of the New York Yankee's Joe Dimaggio in Game 6 of the 1947 World Series. The Dodgers led the Yankees 8-5 going into the bottom of the 6th inning when Gionfriddo was brought in as a defensive replacement. Snuffy Stirnweiss and Yogi Berra were on base when DiMaggio drove the ball to the 415 marker. Gionfriddo raced across the field and reached over the fence to catch the ball. In one of the most famous images in baseball history the taciturn DiMaggio shook his head and kicked at the dirt in frustration.

Gionfriddo was also involved in the even more famous Game 4 of the '47 Series when Cookie Lavagetto's pinch hit double not only broke up Bill Bevens' no hitter with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but won the game as well when Gionfriddo (who had pinch run for Carl Furillo and stole second) and Eddie Miksis scored on the play.

Gionfriddo never played again after the 1947 World Series. He was out of Major League Baseball at the age of 25.

He died in Solvang, California on March 14, 2003 while golfing. He was 81 years old.