Dee Virgil Fondy (October 31, 1924August 19, 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played
first base in the Major Leagues from 1951 to 1958. He played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates,
Cincinnati Reds, and
Chicago Cubs.
Fondy was and weighed 195 pounds. He spent a portion of his youth in
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...
.
[''Angels to Get First Baseman From Benevolent Chicagoans'', ]Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
, February 26, 1951, Page C2.
Fondy was the last player to bat at
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...
. The Pirates lost to the Dodgers 2–0 on September 24, 1957. He grounded out to shortstop Don Zimmer who threw to first baseman Jim Gentile for the final out of the game. He batted above .300 three times, twice for the Cubs and the Pirates during the 1950s.
Soldier; minor league baseball
Fondy served in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
and was among the forces which landed on
Utah Beach
Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...
, in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, in 1944. This was three months after
D-Day.
[
In the spring of 1949, Fondy played for the ]Fort Worth Cats
The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Basebal ...
in the Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
. He homered off Mort Cooper
Morton Cecil Cooper (March 2, 1913 – November 17, 1958) was an American baseball pitcher who played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played from 1938 to 1949 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, New York Giants, and Chi ...
in an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs in Fort Worth. After hitting .328 for the Cats in 1948, he was promoted to the Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...
of the International League, in April 1949. He played a total of 16 games with Montreal, 6 with Fort Worth, and 128 with the Mobile Bears
The Mobile Bears were an American minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. The franchise was a member of the old Southern Association, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the ''Sea G ...
of the Southern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...
, in 1949. He hit .294 with Mobile.[ In 1950 Fondy hit .297 in 141 games with Fort Worth. He led the Texas League in stolen bases with 38 and played in the league's all-star game.][
]
Dodgers' prospect
Fondy came to the majors in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization as ''a huge slugging first baseman from Fort Worth.'' A 1949 New York Times article remarked on his speed for a big man. In spring training he scored from second on a fly ball to right fielder, Carl Furillo
Carl Anthony Furillo (March 8, 1922 – January 21, 1989), nicknamed "The Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), spending his entire career with the Brooklyn / ...
, who possessed a rifle arm. Unfortunately for him his path with the Dodgers was blocked by Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...
, who was a mainstay at first base.[''27 Yanks In Fold As Silvera Signs'', ''The New York Times'', February 17, 1950, Page 37.]
Chicago Cubs (1951–1957)
On opening day in 1951, Fondy hit a bases-loaded triple in his first major league at bat to assist the Cubs to an 8–3 victory against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
. Fondy also had two singles and drove in four runs. He was sent down to the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
of the Pacific Coast League in July, when Chuck Connors
Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
was recalled by the Cubs. At the time Fondy was hitting .293 with 3 home runs and 20 RBIs. In one memorable game with the Angels, Fondy came to the plate 6 times. He hit three singles and three home runs -- one to right, one to left, one to center.
Fondy hit his first homer of the 1953 season to score Eddie Miksis
Edward Thomas Miksis (September 11, 1926 – April 8, 2005) was an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1944 and 1958 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, St ...
and beat the Dodgers, 6–4. The baseball landed in the left center field bleachers on the first day of a Cubs' home stand. He clouted his 5th and 6th home runs at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 9. His 5 RBIs were wasted as the Cubs committed 5 errors and lost 10–9. He collected 4 hits against Pittsburgh at Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...
on July 25. The last one broke a 4–4 tie and gave the Cubs a 5–4 win. It was his 13th 1953 homer. In September Fondy's 9th inning steal of home won the opener of a doubleheader against Cincinnati. He had a solo home run as one of 6 hit by the Cubs in the game.
Fondy jammed his left hand against Cincinnati in July 1954 and missed several games. X-rays proved negative. During spring training in 1955 Fondy went on a tear of 13 hits in 16 times at bat. He knocked in 7 runs with a couple of home runs versus the San Antonio Missions on April 2. He hit his 5th home run of 1956 in the 10th inning of a July 19 game with Philadelphia. It earned Chicago a 4–3 victory.
Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds (1957–1958)
In January 1957 Fondy was reported to be part of a 9 player trade which would have sent him along with second baseman Gene Baker
Eugene Walter Baker (June 15, 1925 – December 1, 1999) was an American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates during eight seasons between 1953 and 1961, and was selected for the National League t ...
to the Phillies, in return for center fielder Richie Ashburn
Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...
. Instead Fondy and Baker were traded to Pittsburgh for first baseman Dale Long
Richard Dale Long (February 6, 1926 – January 27, 1991) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Washington Senators between ...
and outfielder Lee Walls
Raymond Lee Walls Jr. (January 6, 1933 – October 11, 1993) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds ...
. There was no cash involved. On May 12 Fondy batted two singles and a home run to help defeat Robin Roberts and the Phillies, 6–1. He took the lead in the National League batting race with three singles in five at-bats against the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
on June 4. The last hit gave the Pirates the win and boosted Fondy's batting average to .375.
Fondy was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Ted Kluszewski
Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 wit ...
in December 1957. It was an even deal of first baseman. Fondy averaged .313 in 106 games in 1957 despite being injured after being hit with a thrown ball in pre-game practice. Fondy had difficulty making the starting lineup for the Reds in 1958. He was moved to the outfield after George Crowe became the regular first baseman. Fondy smashed a 3-run homer against the Milwaukee Braves to send Lew Burdette
Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Milw ...
to an early exit on May 18. On September 29 Cincinnati released Fondy to the Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initi ...
of the Pacific Coast League in exchange for pitcher Claude Osteen.
Scout & baseball executive
Following his playing career he worked as a scout and front office official for the New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
and the Milwaukee Brewers. With the Brewers he signed Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and former manager of the Minnesota Twins, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his 21-year baseball car ...
, who amassed more than 3,000 hits in his career in the majors. Fondy retired from baseball in 1995 after working as a special assistant to the Milwaukee general manager. He was promoted from director of scouting to special assistant to general manager, Harry Dalton
Harry Inglis Dalton (August 23, 1928 – October 23, 2005) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as general manager of three American League (AL) teams, the Baltimore Orioles (1966–71), California Angels (1 ...
, on December 5, 1977.
Death
Fondy died at the Plymouth Village retirement center, age 74, in 1999.[Dee Fondy, 74, Last Batter in Ebbets Field, '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', August 21, 1999, Page A11. He was buried at Montecito Memorial Park, in Colton, California.Baseball Almanac
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fondy, Dee
1924 births
1999 deaths
Baseball players from Texas
Chicago Cubs players
Cincinnati Reds players
Fort Worth Cats players
Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Milwaukee Brewers scouts
Montreal Royals players
Newport News Dodgers players
New York Mets scouts
People from Slaton, Texas
Pittsburgh Pirates players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
Santa Barbara Dodgers players
Seattle Rainiers players
United States Army personnel of World War II