Leonard Richard Merullo (May 5, 1917 – May 30, 2015) was an American

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 ...

(MLB)

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

who played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

from 1941 to 1947, and scouted for MLB from 1950 to 2003.

Chicago Cubs

A native of

East Boston, Massachusetts East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

, Merullo played shortstop for the

for seven years in the major leagues in the 1940s. He appeared in three games during the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...

against two-time MVP Hal Newhouser, pitchers

Virgil Trucks Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batt ...

, Tommy Bridges, and slugger

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...

of 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 ...

, who defeated the Cubs in seven games in the Series, the last one the Cubs played in until . With the death of

Andy Pafko Andrew Pafko (February 25, 1921 – October 8, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52), and Milwaukee Braves (1953–65), Milwauke ...

on October 8, 2013, Merullo was the last surviving member of the 1945 team, as well as being the oldest living former member of the Cubs. Merullo's major league career began in 1941, and in 1942-45 he won the shortstop job, with

Stan Hack Stanley Camfield Hack (December 6, 1909 – December 15, 1979), nicknamed "Smiling Stan", was an American third baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago Cubs and was the Na ...

playing third base and Merullo's roommate, Phil Cavarretta, at first. In 1946, Billy Jurges, Bobby Sturgeon and Merullo shared the shortstop position until Merullo regained the position in 1947. During this period, Merullo was known to have the quickest throwing arm in baseball. Merullo's time with the Cubs caused him, in later years, to be a frequent subject of Chicago columnist

Mike Royko Michael Royko Jr. (September 19, 1932 – April 29, 1997) was an American newspaper columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Over his 42-year career, he wrote more than 7,500 daily columns for the '' Chicago Daily News'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', an ...

's annual Cub Quiz.

Scout

After retiring from professional baseball, Merullo was chief scout for the Cubs from 1950–72, signing, among others,

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Moe Drabowsky. He left the Cubs in 1973 to join the then-fledgling Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, where he served until his retirement at the age of 85 in 2003.

Personal life

Merullo had four sons, the eldest is nicknamed "Boots" because Merullo famously made four errors in a single inning, on September 13, 194

having been informed by the club's owner, Philip Wrigley, that his wife had just delivered. The following day the Chicago newspapers suggested his newborn baby should be called "Boots" in honor of the occasion. Boots went on to play in the

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

' minor league system for three seasons and Merullo's grandson

Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

had a six-year career playing for major league teams, mainly the

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 ...

. Matt Merullo was a scout for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

and is now manager of the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

Death

On May 30, 2015 in the early morning, Merullo had died, due to complications following a stroke a few weeks prior, aged 98, as announced by the Chicago Cubs. The team did not reveal details pertaining to his death.

Accolades

In 2000, Merullo was named a member of the inaugural class of the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame, having led the Barnstable Townies to the old Cape League title in 1935. He was awarded Scout of the Year in 1990, and the prestigious Judge Emil Fuchs Award for long and meritorious service to baseball in 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merullo, Lennie 1917 births 2015 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Boston Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Chicago Cubs players Chicago Cubs scouts Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball shortstops People from East Boston Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players