Marius Ugo Russo (July 19, 1914 – March 26, 2005) was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(1939–43, 1946). Russo batted right-handed and threw left-handed.

Profile

Marius Russo was born July 19, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York to Giovanni "John" Russo and Sabina Caolo, both immigrants from Italy. His father was a tailor and his family lived in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. On June 6, 1939, Russo debuted with the New York Yankees. He gave four years of good services for his team, winning 14 games in both 1940 and 1941, and was their best pitcher in 1941. Beside this, he made two postseason starts in the 1941 and 1943

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, both

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 ...

wins. He joined the army in 1944, and pitched briefly in 1946.

Career

Russo, known as "The Kid From LI", was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He played baseball for Richmond Hill High School in

. Later, he attended

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

in Brooklyn. After graduating, Russo played for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

farm team of the Yankees. In his rookie season for New York, he finished with an 8–3 record and a 2.41 ERA in 116.0 innings including two

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 and nine complete games. A noted control ace, in 1940 Russo issued just 55 walks in 189.1 innings for a 2.61 W 9/I percentage while compiling a 14–8 mark with a 3.28 ERA and 15 complete games in 24 starts. After he retired. he moved with his wife Stasia to Florida. Russo enjoyed a career year in 1941. He compiled a 14–10 mark with three shutouts and 27 complete games in 1941. His 3.09 ERA was the best of the Yankees pitching staff and the 4th best in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, being surpassed only by

Thornton Lee Thornton or ''variant'', may refer to: People *Thornton (surname), people with the surname ''Thornton'' *Justice Thornton (disambiguation), judges named "Thornton" *Thornton Wilder, American playwright Places Australia *Thornton, New South Wale ...

(2.37),

Al Benton John Alton Benton (March 18, 1911 – April 14, 1968) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox. The right-hand ...

(2.97) and

Charlie Wagner Charles Thomas Wagner (December 3, 1912 – August 31, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox (1938–42, 1946). Nicknamed "Broadway," he went on to a 50- ...

(3.07). He also led his team in strikeouts (105), games started (27), complete games (17) and innings pitched (209.2), and finished second in victories (14) behind

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingt ...

and

Red Ruffing Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

(15 each). In the same season, he pitched a one-hit shutout and made the AL All-Star team. Russo also started and won a complete game 2–1 victory in the Yankees

1941 World Series The 1941 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and their ninth overall. The name "Subway Series" arose for a World Series played ...

win over 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 ...

. A sore arm limited Russo to pitch only innings in 1942, ending the season with a 4–1 record and a 2.78 ERA in nine games (five as a starter). In 1943, he never had control problems, his arm was not hurting, but his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

was losing velocity while trying to simplify his delivery, and finished 5–10. The Yankees provided him with 3.50 runs per game in offense, near his 3.72 ERA in that season. In the 1943 World Series, Russo limited 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 ...

to seven hits in Game 4, and helped himself with the bat, hitting two doubles and scored the winning run in the eighth inning as New York won 2–1. After the 1943 season, Russo served in the

U.S. Army Signal Corps ) , colors = Orange and white , colors_label = Corps colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

in Hawaii. When he returned two years later, he played for the Yankees again briefly.

Career statistics

In a six-season career, Russo posted a 45–34 record with 311 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA in 680.2 innings. A solid hitter, he went 50-for-235 for a .213

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 25 RBI and 23 runs. In the post season, Russo compiled a 2–0 record with a 0.50 ERA in two complete games.

Last years

Following his retirement as a player, Russo worked as an expediter for Grumman Aircraft Eng. Corp. in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2010 United States Cen ...

. Ending the 1970s, he retired and spent time traveling with his wife, Statia Russo. "We'd take trips to Europe, stay a while in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and go up to

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

", she said in an interview. The couple moved to Florida in 2001. Marius Russo died of heart illness in a hospital near his home in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, at 90 years of age.

Sources

External links

Marius Russo Baseball BiographyNewsday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Marius 1914 births 2005 deaths American League All-Stars American people of Italian descent Brooklyn Bulldogs baseball players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds baseball players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from New York (state) New York Yankees players Newark Bears (IL) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Seattle Rainiers players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City American men's basketball players Brooklyn College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II