Carl Furillo

Carl Furillo began his baseball career when he was 16-years old, playing for the Stony Creek, St. Lawrence Dairy, Oley and Leesport teams. He broke into organized baseball when he was 18-years old. He spent time in the minor leagues in Reading (1941) and in Montreal (1942) before heading into the service during WWII. He reported to spring training with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946) and ultimately played on seven National League championship teams (1947, 1949, 1953-56, 1959). Throughout his baseball career, Furillo won respect as a rifle-armed outfielder with a perfected knack of playing the tricky right field wall at Ebbet’s Field. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, CA, Carl led the team with a .305 average at the LA Coliseum and against southpaw pitchers he hit .347 against Cincinnati, .358 against Philadelphia and .357 against St. Louis (1958). He was a two- time National League All-Star (1952-53) and won the National League batting title by hitting .344 (1953). He participated in seven World Series and played a total of 15 seasons with the Dodgers before his retirement (1960). The Reading Rifle was a ballplayer’s player and a solid man of the Dodgers attack, with a lifetime batting average of .299. Carl passed away in Stony Creek Mills, PA (1989).

Deceased