Earl Wellington Rapp (May 20, 1921 – February 13, 1992) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. In

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, he played in and from to for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators. Born in Corunna, Michigan, but raised in Swedesboro, New Jersey, he batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Rapp, whose father was a plant inspector, went to Swedesboro High School in Swedesboro, New Jersey, where he lettered in baseball,

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football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and track.

Career

He was signed as a free agent by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1940. Before the 1941 season, he was sent to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in an unknown transaction. In June of that year, the Red Sox sent him to the Tigers in another unknown transaction. He then spent many years in the minor leagues, missing 1943 to 1945 due to military service. He served in the

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and saw combat in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

, attaining the rank of

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and earning a

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and a

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. He was wounded in the leg at the battle of

Colmar Pocket The Colmar Pocket (; ) was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group (6th AG) during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern a ...

in early 1945.Full biography at Baseball in Wartime
/ref> In 1948, Rapp hit .298 with 17 home runs and 96 RBI for the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

. Prior to getting the call up to the majors in 1949, he hit .340 with 15 home runs and 86 RBI for the Oakland Oaks. On April 28, 1949, he made his major league debut. He had one plate appearance, drawing a walk. On May 7, 1949, he was traded to the White Sox for Don Kolloway. With the White Sox, he hit .259 in 19 games. He was sent to the Oakland Oaks on June 11 of that season to complete an earlier trade involving Jerry Scala and Catfish Metkovich. In 1950, he hit .347 with 24 home runs and 145 RBI for Oakland. On July 1, 1951, Rapp was sent by the Oaks to the Giants for Spider Jorgensen and Red Hardy. He played in 13 games for the Giants, collecting 1 hit in 11 at-bats for a .091 batting average. He was selected off waivers by the Browns on September 1 of that year, and in 98 at-bats with them he hit .327 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Overall, he hit .303 in 109 at-bats that season. With the Oaks that year, he hit .322 with 10 homers and 74 RBI. Despite having a solid run with the Browns in 1951, Rapp did not perform well for them in 1952. In fact, he hit only .143 in 49 at-bats, prompting them to trade him to the Senators for Fred Marsh on June 10. He wrapped up his career with the Senators, hitting .284 in 67 at-bats with them. Overall, he hit .224 with 13 RBI in 116 at-bats that season. He played his final game on September 23. In 1953, Rapp hit .311 with 24 home runs and 108 RBI for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In 1954, he hit .337 with 24 homers and 111 RBI. In 1955, he hit .302 with 30 home runs and 133 RBI for them. In 1956, he hit .300 with nine home runs and 65 RBI. For the Padres and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

in 1957, he hit .278 with three home runs and 19 RBI. Overall, Rapp hit .262 in 279 big league at-bats. He hit two home runs and drove 39 runs in. He played for 12 different minor league clubs from 1940 to 1959, and in 12 years at Triple-A he hit .313.

Later life

Rapp served as a

from 1960 to 1989 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros,

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. With Kansas City, he was responsible for the signing of Mark Gubicza. At the time of his death, he was a consultant to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Rapp died on February 13, 1992, in Swedesboro. Following his death, he was interred at St. Joseph Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Earl 1921 births 1992 deaths Baseball players from Michigan Baseball players from Gloucester County, New Jersey Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds scouts Detroit Tigers players Hagerstown Owls players Houston Astros scouts Jamestown Falcons players Kansas City Royals scouts Major League Baseball outfielders Montreal Expos scouts New York Giants (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Oneonta Indians players People from Corunna, Michigan People from Swedesboro, New Jersey Portland Beavers players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen San Diego Padres (minor league) players Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Blue Jays scouts Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Wausau Timberjacks players Williamsport Grays players Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers