Rudolf Joseph Rufer (October 28, 1926 – October 25, 2010) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player. He played in 26 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

between the 1949 and 1950 seasons for the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, primarily as a

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

. Rufer spent two years of his four-year college baseball career playing at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and the other two at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. He also played for the minor league

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

, for whom he still holds many team records. Rufer resided in

Malverne, New York Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area ...

, and was father to seven children.Rudy Rufer, 84, was Shortstop for New York Giants, Google Groups, Oct. 27, 2010
/ref> For twenty five years he was a scout for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

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1926 births 2010 deaths Baseball players from New York (state) Elmira Pioneers players Fort Worth Cats players Jersey City Giants players Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball shortstops Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Mobile Bears players Minor league baseball managers New York Giants (NL) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Thomasville Dodgers players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players People from Ridgewood, Queens People from Malverne, New York People from Lynbrook, New York {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub