Arthur Edward Ceccarelli (April 2, 1930 – July 11, 2012) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in parts of five seasons spanning –. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., he batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Ceccarelli was a pitching star for

West Haven High School West Haven High School is a secondary school located in West Haven, Connecticut, which educates students in grades 9–12. The mascot of West Haven is the Blue Devil. Administration and campus As of July 1, 2009, the school principal was P ...

in the 1940s before signing a bonus contract with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in 1948. In 1949, he set a

Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 (suspending operations during World War II) and in 1962–1963. It was one of many Class D circuits that played in the Southeastern United States during ...

season record with 294

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, an average of 12.6 per each nine innings. His baseball career was briefly interrupted while serving in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

from 1950 through 1952. After discharging, he pitched three seasons of minor league ball before joining the majors in 1955 with the Athletics. In five big league seasons, Ceccarelli posted a 9–18 record and a 5.05

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 79 pitching appearances (42 starts). His most productive became in 1959, when he went 5–5 with four

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and a pair of

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s for the Cubs. That included a string of four straight wins, a streak capped by a complete-game victory over a

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

' lineup that included

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

and

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...

. One of the most notable games of his career came in a 3–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ceccarelli pitched 10 innings and became the only left-handed pitcher to defeat Sandy Koufax in the Coliseum. His baseball idol was Ted Williams stating in an interview he had walked a batter just to have the chance to pitch against him. During the off seasons, Ceccarelli attended classes at

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

, where he also served as a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the SCSU baseball team. Besides this, he taught History and English at both Milford and Foran High School. He and wife Katherine had three children Sherri, Gregg and Richard as well as four grandchildren.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceccarelli, Art 1930 births 2012 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Haven, Connecticut Birmingham Barons players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Jets players Elmira Pioneers players Fort Worth Cats players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball pitchers Olean Oilers players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Southern Connecticut State University alumni Valdosta Dodgers players Vancouver Mounties players