Frank John "Skeeter" Scalzi (June 16, 1913 – August 25, 1984) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. A 5-foot, 6 inch (1.68 m), 160-pound (72.6 kg)

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 ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

, Scalzi threw and batted right-handed. Born in

Lafferty, Ohio Lafferty is a census-designated place in northeastern Union Township, Belmont County Belmont County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 66,497. Its county seat is St. Clairsville. ...

, Scalzi attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

where his roommate was the future longtime

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a m ...

head football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Paul "Bear" Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

. His 17-year baseball playing career, which began in 1936, was almost exclusively spent in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

. The exception was an 11-game, 18-

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

trial with the

1939 New York Giants The New York Giants season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League. Schedule Game Summaries Week 3: at Philadelphia Eagles Week 4: at Washington Redskins Week 5: at Pittsburgh Pirates Week 6: vs. Philadelphia E ...

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) ...

. Scalzi collected six

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 s ...

, all

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, for a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

of .333, with one stolen base. He started four games at

during his stint with the Giants. Scalzi became a minor-league manager in 1947, and worked in that role for 12 years in several organizations, most notably 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

farm system, through 1960. Skeeter Scalzi died in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

at the age of 71. He was interred at Upland Cemetery,

Yorkville, Ohio Yorkville is a village in Belmont and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 968 at the 2020 census. Yorkville lies within two Metropolitan Statistical Areas; the Belmont County portion is part of the Wheeling metropo ...

External links

Career playing and managing record, from Baseball Reference
* 1913 births 1984 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide baseball players American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Ohio Charleston ChaSox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox managers Davenport DavSox players Elmira Pioneers players Fayetteville Cubs players Hopkinsville Hoppers players Knoxville Smokies players Lynchburg Cardinals players Major League Baseball shortstops New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players New York Giants (NL) players Norfolk Tars players People from Belmont County, Ohio Sacramento Solons players Springfield Indians (baseball) players Sunbury Giants players Vicksburg Hill Billies players Zanesville Greys players Holdrege White Sox players American expatriate sportspeople in Colombia {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub