Anthony 'Tony' Ferrara, (c. 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and scout.
Ferrara was born in Schenectady, New York in the late 1920s. After High school he got a scholarship to the University of Miami. After college he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and played minor league baseball before a shoulder injury ended his playing career. [1]
In the 1960s Ferrara spent five seasons as the hitting coach for St. Johns University.
In 1970, Ferrara moved to New York City and landed a job with the New York Yankees and remained with them until 1997, serving in a number of roles including batting practice pitcher, bullpen coach, and scout.
In 1999 former Yankee Rick Cerone asked Ferrara to become First base coach for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, a position he held for three seasons.
In 2007, he coached and managed in the professional Israel Baseball League and served as Assistant Commissioner..
In 2009, Ferrara returned to the Bears as bench coach. [2]
In 1984, Ferrara served as technical advisor for the Robert Redford film The Natural and appeared in the film as third base coach.
Ferrara died on December 4, 2009, a few weeks after suffering a stroke. [3] He is survived by his younger brother, Joseph A. Ferrara who resides in Florida.
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was an 18-time All-Star and won 10 World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history. Berra had a career batting average of .285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. He is one of only six players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. The Bears played their home games at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The team folded after the 2013 season.
Joseph Lowell Gordon, nicknamed "Flash", in reference to the comic-book character Flash Gordon, was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1950. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
William Malcolm Dickey was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 19 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in 1946 in his last season as a player.
Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe was an American baseball third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees from 1931 to 1942 and managed the Detroit Tigers from 1949 to 1952.
Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens, nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball coach and retired player. He is the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Willard McKee Hershberger was an American baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1938 to 1940. In 160 career games, Hershberger recorded a batting average of .316 and accumulated 5 triples and 41 runs. He is the only major league player to date to commit suicide during the season.
Alfred Aloysius "Allie" Clark was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for seven seasons in the American League with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox. In 358 career games, Clark recorded a batting average of .262 and accumulated 32 home runs and 149 runs batted in (RBIs).
John Henry Neun was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1925 to 1931 for the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Braves. Neun is notable for completing the seventh unassisted triple play in MLB history. After his playing career he served as the manager for the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds.
Peter William Appleton, born Peter Jablonowski and sometimes known as "Jabby" and the "Polish Wizard," was an American baseball player, scout, and manager.
D'Angelo Jiménez is a former professional baseball infielder that played primarily at second base. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Washington Nationals.
Frederick Meloy Frankhouse was an American baseball pitcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1939. His specialty pitch was "the old roundhouse curve", and he was often referred to as a "spitballer" during his career as a pitcher. Frankhouse played in the National League for the St. Louis Cardinals (1927–30), the Boston Braves (1930–35), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1936–38), and the Boston Bees (1939) In 1928, Frankhouse went to the World Series with the Cardinals but never got a chance to pitch. He did, however, receive a World Series ring with the rest of his team. In 1934, Frankhouse was a member of the All-Star roster. He made his major league debut on September 11, 1927 for the St. Louis Cardinals, and played his last game September 25, 1939 vs. New York Giants as a pitcher for the Boston Bees.
Henry Majeski was an American professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1955 for the Boston Bees/Braves (1939–41), New York Yankees (1946), Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox (1950–51), Cleveland Indians (1952–55) and Baltimore Orioles (1955). He was known as one of the best fielding third basemen of his era, setting a major league single-season record for third basemen with a .988 fielding percentage in 1947.
Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox. He served as the bench coach of the Texas Rangers from 2018 through 2021. He was hired as bench coach of the Kansas City Royals for the 2014 season. He was the manager of the Seattle Mariners for the 2009 season, as well as the majority of the 2010 season. He was the Toronto Blue Jays' bench coach for 2011 and 2012, after which he was replaced by DeMarlo Hale. During the 2013 season he worked as a scout for the New York Yankees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He is currently the first-ever executive vice president of baseball operations with the Oakland Ballers.
Thomas Brad "Trey" Hillman is an American professional baseball coach. He has also served as the manager of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League, the Kansas City Royals in the American League and the SK Wyverns in the KBO League. Therefore, he is the only person to have served as manager in these three countries. He has also been a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and the Miami Marlins.
Bernard Oliver "Benny" Bengough was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Yankees during the 1920s when the team garnered the nickname of Murderers' Row, due to their potent batting lineup. He played the final two seasons of his career with the St. Louis Browns. Bengough was a light-hitting, defensive specialist. After his playing career, he spent 18 seasons as a major league coach.
Michael Dennis Kelleher is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and California Angels. He coached for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tigers, and the New York Yankees.
William Oliver Gilbert was an American professional baseball second baseman who played from the 1890s through 1912. Gilbert played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1909, for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Paul Bernard Krichell was a French Major League Baseball catcher, best known for being the head scout for the New York Yankees for 37 years until his death. Krichell's talent evaluations and signings played a key role in building up the Yankees' run of success from the Murderers' Row teams of the 1920s to the 1950s teams led by Casey Stengel.
Raymond Lincoln Kennedy was an American professional baseball player, scout and front office executive. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.