Gordon Richard Massa is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 player who appeared in eight games

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

 as a catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 and pinch hitter

Pinch hitter

In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...

 for the 1957

1957 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Milwaukee Braves over New York Yankees ; Lew Burdette, MVP*All-Star Game, July 9 at Busch Stadium: American League, 6-5-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: California...

–1958

1958 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...

 Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 of Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. A left-handed

Left-handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

 batter who threw right-handed, he stood 6 in 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95.3 kg).

After graduating from Elder High School

Elder High School

Elder High School is a parochial all-male, college-preparatory high school in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The high school has been in existence for over 85 years and is a parochial high school within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati...

 in Cincinnati, Massa attended The College of the Holy Cross, where he starred in baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. In 1955 he led the Crusaders

Holy Cross Crusaders

The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Patriot League. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Atlantic Hockey Association and women's golf in the Big South Conference...

 in home runs and runs batted in as the team posted a 13–4 record and qualified for the NCAA Division I College Baseball Tournament

College baseball

College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

. Overall, Holy Cross won 42 of 53 games during Massa's time on the varsity. In football, he played center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 and linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 and was selected by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the tenth round of the 1957 National Football League Draft.

But Massa chose professional baseball as his destination and signed with the Cubs on June 24, 1957. Three months later, after prepping with the Des Moines Bruins

Des Moines Bruins

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Sec Taylor Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers .-Year-by-year record:...

 of the Class A Western League

Western League (defunct minor league)

The Western League is a name given to several circuits in American minor league baseball. Its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American League...

, Massa made his MLB debut, starting at catcher and notching two hits

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

, both singles

Single (baseball)

In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...

, in four at bats with one run batted in

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

 against Hal Jeffcoat

Hal Jeffcoat

Harold Bentley Jeffcoat was an outfielder and pitcher for the Chicago Cubs , Cincinnati Redlegs and St...

 of the Cincinnati Redlegs

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

. All told, Massa collected seven hits in 15 at bats with three RBI during his first trial with the Cubs. The following year, he was sent to the Minor league baseball#Defunct levelsClass B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League

Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League

The Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League was a minor league baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 years, mostly in those three states. It was popularly known as the Three-I League and also sometimes jokingly as the Three-Eye League....

 for further minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 seasoning, and he batted

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .316 to earn his second late-season call-up to the Cubs. He went hitless in two at bats.

Massa returned to the minors for good in 1959, and retired after the 1963 season after seven seasons in the Cub farm system, pitching

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

in 24 games as well as handling catching chores.

He was elected to the Holy Cross Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.