(3) RUGGER ARDIZOIA INDEX CARD SIGNED 1947 NY YANKEES PSA/DNA CERTIFY 1919-2015

Description

(3) RUGGER ARDIZOIA INDEX CARD SIGNED 1947 NY YANKEES PSA/DNA CERTIFY 1919-2015
Rinaldo Joseph "Rugger" Ardizoia
(November 20, 1919 – July 19, 2015) was a
Major League Baseball
pitcher. The 5"11", 180 lb. right-hander was one of only seven Italian natives to ever play in the big leagues. He appeared in one game for the
New York Yankees
in 1947 and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living former member of the team
Ardizoia was born in
Oleggio
, Italy.
[1]
The 27-year-old rookie took the mound on April 30, 1947, at
Sportsman's Park
in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Yankees trailing the
St. Louis Browns
. He pitched two innings for New York and faced a total of 10 batters, giving up four
hits
, a
walk
, and two
earned runs
. The final score was Browns 15, Yankees 5. Ardizoia was credited with a
game finished
.
Ardizoia's
minor league baseball
career spanned fifteen seasons, starting in
1937
with the
Mission Reds
. He missed three seasons while serving in World War II in 1943–45, then played for the
Oakland Oaks
of the
Pacific Coast League
in
1946
. Following his major league appearance, he returned to the PCL until
1950
, then ended his career with the
Dallas Eagles
of the
Texas League
in
1951
.
Ardizoia died on July 19, 2015 after a stroke suffered one week prior. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former member of the New York Yankees, as well as the oldest in a group of nearly 1,500 players who have appeared in exactly one Major League game