scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
Corunna, Michigan
Corunna ( ''CORE-UN-NUH'') is a city and county seat of Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,497 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by Caledonia Charter Township and is slightly east of the city of Ow ...
, but raised in
Swedesboro, New Jersey
Swedesboro is a borough in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,584,Swedesboro, New Jersey
Swedesboro is a borough in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,584,basketball,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
.
Career
He was signed as a free agent by 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 ...
in 1940. Before the 1941 season, he was sent to the Boston Red Sox in an unknown transaction. In June of that year, the Red Sox sent him to the Tigers in another unknown transaction. He then spent many years in the minor leagues, missing 1943 to 1945 due to military service. He served in the United States Army and saw combat in the
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
, attaining the rank of
Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
and earning a
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
and a Purple Heart. He was wounded in the leg at the battle of
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket (french: Poche de Colmar; de , Brückenkopf Elsass) was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group (6th AG) during World War II. ...
in early 1945.Full biography at Baseball in Wartime /ref>
In 1948, Rapp hit .298 with 17 home runs and 96 RBI for the Seattle Rainiers. Prior to getting the call up to the majors in 1949, he hit .340 with 15 home runs and 86 RBI for the Oakland Oaks.
On April 28, 1949, he made his major league debut. He had one plate appearance, drawing a walk. On May 7, 1949, he was traded to the White Sox for Don Kolloway. With the White Sox, he hit .259 in 19 games. He was sent to the
Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically:
* Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955
*Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...
on June 11 of that season to complete an earlier trade involving Jerry Scala and Catfish Metkovich. In 1950, he hit .347 with 24 home runs and 145 RBI for Oakland.
On July 1, 1951, Rapp was sent by the Oaks to the Giants for
Spider Jorgensen
John Donald "Spider" Jorgensen (November 3, 1919 – November 6, 2003) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1947 through 1951 for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–50) and New York Giants (1950–51). Jorgensen made his MLB de ...
and
Red Hardy
Francis Joseph "Red" Hardy (January 6, 1923 in Marmarth, North Dakota – August 15, 2003 in Phoenix, Arizona) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Giants in .
Prior to playing professionally, he attended ...
. He played in 13 games for the Giants, collecting 1 hit in 11 at-bats for a .091 batting average. He was selected off waivers by the Browns on September 1 of that year, and in 98 at-bats with them he hit .327 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Overall, he hit .303 in 109 at-bats that season. With the Oaks that year, he hit .322 with 10 homers and 74 RBI.
Despite having a solid run with the Browns in 1951, Rapp did not perform well for them in 1952. In fact, he hit only .143 in 49 at-bats, prompting them to trade him to the Senators for
Fred Marsh
Fred Francis Marsh (January 5, 1924 – October 26, 2006) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball who played in and from to for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Oriole ...
on June 10. He wrapped up his career with the Senators, hitting .284 in 67 at-bats with them. Overall, he hit .224 with 13 RBI in 116 at-bats that season. He played his final game on September 23.
In 1953, Rapp hit .311 with 24 home runs and 108 RBI for the San Diego Padres of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
. In 1954, he hit .337 with 24 homers and 111 RBI. In 1955, he hit .302 with 30 home runs and 133 RBI for them. In 1956, he hit .300 with nine home runs and 65 RBI. For the Padres and Portland Beavers in 1957, he hit .278 with three home runs and 19 RBI.
Overall, Rapp hit .262 in 279 big league at-bats. He hit two home runs and drove 39 runs in. He played for 12 different minor league clubs from 1940 to 1959, and in 12 years at Triple-A he hit .313.
Later life
Rapp served as a
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. With Kansas City, he was responsible for the signing of
Mark Gubicza
Mark Steven Gubicza (; born August 14, 1962), nicknamed "Gubie," is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Gubicza played for 14 major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals (1984–96) and Anaheim Angels (1997) ...
. At the time of his death, he was a consultant to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Rapp died on February 13, 1992, in Swedesboro. Following his death, he was interred at St. Joseph Cemetery.