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.

Biography

Ardizoia was born in Oleggio, Italy. 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 Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, a walk, and two earned runs. The final score was Browns 15, Yankees 5. Ardizoia was credited with a

game finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is ...

. Ardizoia's minor league baseball career spanned fifteen seasons, starting in with the Mission Reds. He missed three seasons while serving in World War II in 1943–45, then played for the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

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 . Following his major league appearance, he returned to the PCL until , then ended his career with the Dallas Eagles of the Texas League in . 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.Rinaldo Ardizoia — one-time big-leaguer, longtime San Franciscan
''SFGate.com.'' Retrieved on July 21, 2015.

References

External links

SABR BioProject Biography
1919 births 2015 deaths American people of Italian descent Bellingham Chinooks players Dallas Eagles players Hollywood Stars players Italian emigrants to the United States Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball players from Italy Major League Baseball pitchers Mission Reds players New York Yankees players Newark Bears players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players People from Oleggio Seattle Rainiers players Sportspeople from the Province of Novara {{Italy-baseball-bio-stub