Adolph Louis Camilli (April 23, 1907 – October 21, 1997) was an American
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
in
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 (A ...
who spent most of his career with the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
and
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...
. He was named the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
's
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...
in after leading the league in
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...
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
Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...
was a major league
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...
in the 1960s.
["The Ballplayers – Dolf Camilli"](_blank)
. ''baseballlibrary.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-26. His brother, who
boxed Boxed may refer to:
* Boxed.com, a wholesale on-line shopping site.
* Boxed (Eurythmics), ''Boxed'' (Eurythmics), an eight album box set
* Boxed (Mike Oldfield album), ''Boxed'' (Mike Oldfield album)
* Boxed warning, a warning that appears on Unite ...
under the name
Frankie Campbell, died of a
cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
following a 1930 match with
Max Baer.
Major league career
Born and raised in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, Camilli attended
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC or SH, is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and ...
. He had an eight-year
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
career before making his major league debut with the
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 locate ...
at the end of the 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 Batting may refer to:
*Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
*Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...
a career-high .339 and leading the National League in
on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
in the last season. But he also had a free-swinging style that led to numerous
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 den ...
s; in his rookie season, he tied
Hack Wilson
Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive statur ...
's modern National League record of 94 strikeouts, and in 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
Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...
'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. 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
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
in five games.
In , he finished second in the National League in home runs and runs batted in. That year, he also broke
Zack Wheat
Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Do ...
's club record of 131 career home runs (
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 ...
surpassed his final total of 139 in , and
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...
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;
instead, he
managed the
Oakland Oaks of the
Pacific Coast League in 1944–45 before joining the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
in mid-, 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
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
(1330) and
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...
(1311); his National League record of 923 was broken by Gil Hodges in . Among his career highlights was recording the last out of Ruth's career.
Later life
Following his playing career, Camilli returned to the Pacific Coast League and managed the Oaks and
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...
, 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 , 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."
In an article in 1976 in ''Esquire'' magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Camilli was the first baseman on Stein's Italian team.
Camilli died in
San Mateo, California at age 90. He was buried at
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent".
History
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several memb ...
in
Colma, California
Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.
...
.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
This is a list of the 300 Major League Baseball players who have hit the most home runs.
In the sport of baseball, a home run is a hit in which the batter scores by circling all the bases and reaching home plate in one play, without the benefit ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
In baseball, a run batted in (RBI) is awarded to a Batting (baseball), batter for each Baserunning, runner who Run (baseball), scores as a result of the batter's action, including a Hit (baseball), hit, fielder's choice, sacrifice fly, bases loade ...
*
Dodgers Award Winners and League Leaders
*
List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
In 1934, the breakfast cereal Wheaties began the practice of including pictures of athletes on its packaging to coincide with its slogan, "The Breakfast of Champions." In its original form, athletes were depicted on the sides or back of the ce ...
*
List of members of the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
This is a list of members of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
__NOTOC__
A
*Ed Abbaticchio, baseball player
*Ben Abruzzo, balloonist
*Acerra's, basketball players
*Mike Adamle, gridiron football
*Joey Amalfitano, baseball player ...
*
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a 501(c)(3) organization, section 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Comme ...
References
External links
Baseball Almanac*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camilli, Dolph
1907 births
1997 deaths
American sportspeople of Italian descent
Baseball players from San Francisco
Boston Red Sox players
Brooklyn Dodgers players
Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
California Angels scouts
Chicago Cubs players
Logan Collegians players
Major League Baseball first basemen
National League All-Stars
National League home run champions
National League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National League RBI champions
New York Yankees scouts
Oakland Athletics scouts
Oakland Oaks (baseball) managers
Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Sacramento Senators players
Salt Lake City Bees players
San Francisco Seals (baseball) players
Spokane Indians managers