Fred Caligiuri

Frederick John Caligiuri (born October 22, 1918) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played during 1941 and 1942 for the Philadelphia Athletics. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed.

A native of West Hickory, Pennsylvania, Caligiuri was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by a stint in the United States Army 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 Lefty Grove and the Red Sox. This game 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 (nine unearned) on 90 hits and 32 walks while striking out 27 in 79 ⅔ innings of work. From 1943 to 1945 Caligiuri served in the military during World War II.^[1] He is the last surviving retired MLB player who made his debut prior to the Pearl Harbor attack/US involvement in WWII.

As of May 2018, Caligiuri, age 99, is recognized as the oldest living major league ballplayer. His wife of 73 years, Anne, died on October 11, 2014.^[2]

See also

• List of oldest living MLB players

References

External links

• Baseball Reference
• BR Bullpen
• Retrosheet