Fred Caligiuri
Frederick John Caligiuri was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played during and for the Philadelphia Athletics. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed.Biography
A native of West Hickory, Pennsylvania, Caligiuri was one of many major leaguers who saw their baseball careers interrupted by a stint with the United States Armed Forces during World War II.
A late-season 1941 call-up from Wilmington of the Interstate League, he entered the baseball record books while starting the last game of the season against the Boston Red Sox at Shibe Park. It was the game in which Ted Williams finished the season with a.406. batting average, the most recent.400 average in the majors. Williams went 2-for-3 against Caligiuri, who did not yield a run until the ninth inning, and finished with a complete game, six-hit, 7–1 victory over Baseball Hall of Fame standout Lefty Grove and his Red Sox, a game which also marked the last start for Grove, who retired before the 1942 season.
Over parts of two seasons, Caligiuri posted a 2-5 record with a 4.52 ERA in 18 appearances, including seven starts, giving up 49 runs on 90 hits and 32 walks while striking out 27 in 79 ⅔ innings of work.
From 1943 to 1945 Caligiuri served in the United States Army during World War II.
He was the last surviving retired MLB player who made his debut in the majors prior to the Pearl Harbor attack/U.S. involvement in World War II.
Caligiuri died in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 30, 2018 at the age of 100. Caligiuri was recognized as the oldest living major league ballplayer until his death, with Tom Jordan succeeding him.
His wife of 73 years, Anne, died at the age of 91 on October 11, 2014.
