Marvin Eugene Rackley (July 25, 1921 – April 24, 2018) was an American baseball player who was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

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), ...

. He played from 1947 to 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in the

1949 World Series The 1949 World Series featured the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the 12th championship in team history. This victory would start a record ...

as a member of the Dodgers.

Career

Rackley was born in

Seneca, South Carolina Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 74,273 at the 2010 census), an (MSA) that includes ...

. He signed with the Dodgers in 1941, at the age of 19. In his first professional season, he hit .322 in the

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 ...

."Marv Rackley Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-03. After the 1942 season, Rackley enlisted in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He spent three years in the service and also played some semi-pro baseball. In 1946, Rackley was discharged and returned to organized baseball. The Dodgers sent him 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, where he was teammates with Jackie Robinson in Robinson's first minor league season. While Robinson was the star of the team, Rackley also played well, batting .305 and leading the league in triples (14) and stolen bases (64). Montreal won the pennant and the

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

. After the season, Robinson hired Rackley to play on the Jackie Robinson All-Stars exhibition team. Rackley joined the Dodgers in 1947. He made his major league debut as a pinch-runner on April 15, in the same game that Jackie Robinson made his debut as the starting first baseman. Rackley would be the last surviving player from either team in that game. In 18 games in 1947, Rackley batted .222. He finished the season in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. Rackley then rejoined Brooklyn in 1948 and had his best major league campaign, hitting .327 in 88 games. On May 1, 1949, he was traded to Pittsburgh for

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 ...

Johnny Hopp John Leonard Hopp (July 18, 1916 – June 1, 2003) was an American professional baseball player and coach. Born in Hastings, Nebraska, he was an outfielder and first baseman who appeared in 1,393 Major League Baseball games over 14 seasons ( ...

. But after three weeks with the Pirates (during which Rackley appeared in 11 games played and batted .314), the trade was voided on June 7 and Rackley went back to the Dodgers. He was purchased by Cincinnati in October, for $60,000. He played five games for them in 1950 before going to the Pacific Coast League's

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 ...

. Over the next several years, Rackley also played in 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 ...

and the International League. He retired in 1955 and died in April 2018 at the age of 96.Marvin Eugene Rackley Obituary
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rackley, Marv 1921 births 2018 deaths Atlanta Crackers managers Atlanta Crackers players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from South Carolina Birmingham Barons players Brooklyn Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Ducks players Durham Bulls players Major League Baseball center fielders Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players People from Seneca, South Carolina Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Seattle Rainiers players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Valdosta Trojans players