Al Ferrara was born in Brooklyn in 1939, making the perfect time to appreciate the Dodgers’ run of success in the 1950s. The Dodgers moved west to Los Angeles in 1958, and Ferrara was fortunate enough to move with them.
The Dodgers signed Ferrara for a $9,000 bonus in 1958. He debuted in Los Angeles five years later, collected a World Series ring in 1965, and spent most of his eight major league seasons with his hometown team.
Ferrara died at age 84 after a long battle with pneumonia.
(Original Caption) 4/22/1970-New York, New York- Al Ferrara of the San Diego Padres swings and misses for strike three giving Mets’ pitcher Tom Seaver the record for most consecutive strikeouts, 10, as the Mets topped… (Original Caption) 4/22/1970-New York, New York- Al Ferrara of the San Diego Padres swings and misses for strike three giving Mets’ pitcher Tom Seaver the record for most consecutive strikeouts, 10, as the Mets topped the Padres 2-1. Seaver’s 10th straight strikeout gave him a total of 19 for the game, equaling the record set by St. Louis pitcher Steve Carlton against the Mets in 1969. The catcher is Jerry Grote and the umpire is Harry Wendelstedt. Ferrara died at age 84.
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“I was never motivated by money,” Ferrara told the Society for American Baseball Research. “I was from Brooklyn and I grew up a Dodger fan. If you told me that I would wind up batting cleanup for the Dodgers I would have paid you. Playing the game was the important thing to me. Getting paid to play was just a bonus.”
In 574 major league gmes with the Dodgers (1963-68), San Diego Padres (1969-70) and Cincinnati Reds (1971), Ferrara batted .259 with 51 home runs and 198 RBIs.
Ferrara rejoined the Dodgers in their community relations department in 2009. He was a frequent guest at alumni events over the next decade.
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
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