Ralph LaPointe
Encyclopedia
Raoul Robert "Ralph" LaPointe (January 8, 1922 – September 13, 1967) was a professional baseball
player. In a playing career that spanned eight teams, ten years, and seven seasons, LaPointe played for the Philadelphia Phillies
of Major League Baseball
in 1947, and the St. Louis Cardinals
in 1948. He was officially listed as standing 5 in 11 in (180.34 cm) and weighing 185 pounds (83.9 kg).
. He attended Winooski High School and then matriculated at the University of Vermont
in 1941 after a summer playing independent baseball. He was a three-sport star for the freshman teams in baseball, basketball
, and football
, earning All-American honors in the fall of 1942 for the last. He joined the military during World War II
and served stateside until 1945, undertaking specialized linguistic training at Haverford College
and serving three years at Camp Ritchie
in Maryland
.
signed LaPointe as an amateur free agent in February 1946 and assigned him to the Wilmington Blue Rocks
, their class-B affiliate in the Interstate League
. He led the 1946 team in at-bats (572), and was second in batting average
(.320, behind Ed Murphy) and doubles
(34, behind Mickey Rutner
). On May 28 of that year, LaPointe was involved in an incident in a game between the Blue Rocks and the Cleveland Indians
-affiliated Harrisburg Senators, in which he ran into second baseman Dale Lynch after several players had been ejected for arguing with umpire Max Shindler. LaPointe also played a key role in the season's playoffs, where the Blue Rocks faced the Senators again; he hit a two-run home run
with the Blue Rocks behind in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Joe Scheldt and give the Rocks the walk-off
victory on their way to the 1946 league championship.
roster in the 1947 season, entering Philadelphia's first game of the year as a defensive replacement for starting second baseman
Emil Verban
. He notched his first major-league hit
in his second appearance, a 5–2 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers
on April 23. His first major-league start, run scored
, and run batted in
(RBI) all came in the same contest, a 11–4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates
on April 30 wherein LaPointe led off
for Philadelphia and reached base once, by means of a walk
. He played five games for the Phillies in May, including both halves of doubleheaders
on May 4 and 8, but the Phillies demoted him to the minor league Baltimore Orioles
on May 14. He batted .277 for the Orioles during his minor league stint, hitting five home runs, including one in his first at-bat in Baltimore. On June 2, he tied an International League
record with six errors
against the Rochester Red Wings
—before hitting a walk-off home run in the ninth inning—and followed with four more errors against the Red Wings on June 25.
LaPointe returned to Philadelphia in August, going 1-for-5 with a run scored in his first game back. Between August 17 and 21, he hit safely 13 times in 30 at-bats, raising his average to .315 and scoring eight runs while batting in two over the stretch. In September, LaPointe played in six games over three days, as the Phillies played three back-to-back doubleheaders against the Chicago Cubs
and the Pirates. He went 15-for-27 with three doubles, three RBI, and his first major-league home run in those three days. His strong performance in the latter half of the season maintained his batting average at .308. For his season-long achievements, LaPointe was named to The Sporting News
All-Rookie Team.
Dick Sisler
from the St. Louis Cardinals
in exchange for LaPointe; the trade included cash sent to St. Louis believed to be $20,000–$30,000 ($–$ today). Serving as a utility backup to regulars Marty Marion
and Red Schoendienst
, LaPointe began his Cardinals career with four hits, two runs scored, two RBI, and one double in his first four contests; however, by May 14, his batting average had dropped to .200. Although a three-hit performance on May 16 raised his average and a double, a single, and two RBI on May 19 helped his cause, his average was still a struggling .214 at the end of May and dropped below the Mendoza Line
to .192 by the end of June, in which he only hit safely in one game.
In July, LaPointe appeared in all but two games for the Cardinals while filling in at second base for Schoendienst—who injured his shoulder—including five sets of doubleheaders; he notched seven multi-hit games in the month, capped by a 3-for-5 performance in a 12–10 loss to the Cubs on July 6. He raised his average to .213 by late July and amassed a seven-game hitting streak in mid-August—with four of those being two-hit contests—which raised his average as hit as .231. He had one hit on the first of September, his final safety of the season, and finished the year batting .225 with 27 runs scored and 15 RBI in 87 games played.
by St. Louis for the 1949 season. Although he had played in only one career game as a third baseman
at the major-league level, he was moved there as the starter for the Red Wings, playing 78 games at the hot corner. As Rochester's primary leadoff hitter, he batted .273 with 12 doubles, 3 home runs, and 35 RBI. He returned to the Phillies' farm system in 1950, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the season's start. Manager Jack Sanford
moved LaPointe back to shortstop; he batted .237 in 110 games for Toronto. In 393 at-bats that season, he scored 46 runs while batting in 27, and his 17 doubles were the fourth-highest total on the team. After batting .270 in 68 games for the Tulsa Oilers
of the Texas League
in 1951, LaPointe retired from professional baseball.
and won 13 state championships. During the 1955 season, he returned to a short stint in professional baseball as the playing coach of the Provincial League's
Burlington A's, playing third base as the team finished second to the Québec Braves. He led the Catamounts within one game of the College World Series
during the 1956 season, and was honored by both the Vermont Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association—for "outstanding contribution to Vermont sports"—and by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
, who named him the Coach of the Year in 1967, his final season.
. Thereafter, the university's baseball field house
at Centennial Field
was renamed the Ralph LaPointe Field House, which was restored and re-dedicated in 1988. LaPointe was elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association
Hall of Fame in 1978 and named to Sports Illustrated
s list of the top 50 athletes from Vermont in the 20th century in 1999.
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...
player. In a playing career that spanned eight teams, ten years, and seven seasons, LaPointe played for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
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...
in 1947, and the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in 1948. He was officially listed as standing 5 in 11 in (180.34 cm) and weighing 185 pounds (83.9 kg).
Early life
LaPointe was born on January 8, 1922, in Winooski, VermontWinooski, Vermont
Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2010 census the city population was 7,267...
. He attended Winooski High School and then matriculated at the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
in 1941 after a summer playing independent baseball. He was a three-sport star for the freshman teams in baseball, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, 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...
, earning All-American honors in the fall of 1942 for the last. He joined the military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and served stateside until 1945, undertaking specialized linguistic training at Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and serving three years at Camp Ritchie
Fort Ritchie
Fort Ritchie was a military installation south of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania in the area of South Mountain . The installations's closure under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure was nearly complete by 1998: "Out the Gate, by 98" .-History:In 1815, the Buena Vista Ice Company constructed two...
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Minor leagues
The Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
signed LaPointe as an amateur free agent in February 1946 and assigned him to the Wilmington Blue Rocks
Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952)
The Wilmington Blue Rocks were a minor league baseball team based in Wilmington, Delaware, playing in the Interstate League from 1940-1952. The nickname "Blue Rocks" came from 73-year-old Robert Miller in a name-the-team contest. Miller lived in the Henry Clay section of the city, famed for its...
, their class-B affiliate in the Interstate League
Interstate League
The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. The longest tenured of these was the last incarnation, which played in the Middle Atlantic States from 1939 through 1952, and was one of the few mid-level minor...
. He led the 1946 team in at-bats (572), and was second in batting average
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 :...
(.320, behind Ed Murphy) and doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(34, behind Mickey Rutner
Mickey Rutner
Milton "Mickey" Rutner was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1947 season. Listed at 5' 11", 190 lb., Rutner batted and threw right-handed...
). On May 28 of that year, LaPointe was involved in an incident in a game between the Blue Rocks and the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
-affiliated Harrisburg Senators, in which he ran into second baseman Dale Lynch after several players had been ejected for arguing with umpire Max Shindler. LaPointe also played a key role in the season's playoffs, where the Blue Rocks faced the Senators again; he hit a two-run home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
with the Blue Rocks behind in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Joe Scheldt and give the Rocks the walk-off
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
victory on their way to the 1946 league championship.
1947: Philadelphia Phillies and minor league Orioles
LaPointe made the Phillies' Opening DayOpening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
roster in the 1947 season, entering Philadelphia's first game of the year as a defensive replacement for starting second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Emil Verban
Emil Verban
Emil Matthew Verban was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Philadelphia Phillies , Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves . Verban batted and threw right-handed...
. He notched his first major-league hit
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....
in his second appearance, a 5–2 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
on April 23. His first major-league start, run scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, and 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...
(RBI) all came in the same contest, a 11–4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
on April 30 wherein LaPointe led off
Batting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
for Philadelphia and reached base once, by means of a walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
. He played five games for the Phillies in May, including both halves of doubleheaders
Doubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
on May 4 and 8, but the Phillies demoted him to the minor league Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (minor league)
The city of Baltimore, Maryland has been home to two minor league baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles.-Name history:"Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore . It was used by major league teams from 1882 through 1899 in the American Association/National League and by...
on May 14. He batted .277 for the Orioles during his minor league stint, hitting five home runs, including one in his first at-bat in Baltimore. On June 2, he tied an International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
record with six errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
against the Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
—before hitting a walk-off home run in the ninth inning—and followed with four more errors against the Red Wings on June 25.
LaPointe returned to Philadelphia in August, going 1-for-5 with a run scored in his first game back. Between August 17 and 21, he hit safely 13 times in 30 at-bats, raising his average to .315 and scoring eight runs while batting in two over the stretch. In September, LaPointe played in six games over three days, as the Phillies played three back-to-back doubleheaders against the 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...
and the Pirates. He went 15-for-27 with three doubles, three RBI, and his first major-league home run in those three days. His strong performance in the latter half of the season maintained his batting average at .308. For his season-long achievements, LaPointe was named to The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
All-Rookie Team.
1948: Trade to St. Louis
Prior to the start of the 1948 season, the Phillies acquired first basemanFirst baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Dick Sisler
Dick Sisler
Richard Alan Sisler was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Sisler was the son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler. Younger brother Dave Sisler was a relief pitcher in the 1950s and 1960s with four MLB...
from the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in exchange for LaPointe; the trade included cash sent to St. Louis believed to be $20,000–$30,000 ($–$ today). Serving as a utility backup to regulars Marty Marion
Marty Marion
Martin Whiteford Marion was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball from to . Marion played with the St. Louis Cardinals for the majority of his career before ending with the St. Louis Browns as a player-manager...
and Red Schoendienst
Red Schoendienst
Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst is an American Major League Baseball coach, former player and manager, and 10-time All-star. After a 19-year playing career with the St...
, LaPointe began his Cardinals career with four hits, two runs scored, two RBI, and one double in his first four contests; however, by May 14, his batting average had dropped to .200. Although a three-hit performance on May 16 raised his average and a double, a single, and two RBI on May 19 helped his cause, his average was still a struggling .214 at the end of May and dropped below the Mendoza Line
Mendoza Line
The Mendoza Line is an expression in baseball in the United States, deriving from the name of shortstop Mario Mendoza, whose lifetime batting average is taken to define the threshold of incompetent hitting...
to .192 by the end of June, in which he only hit safely in one game.
In July, LaPointe appeared in all but two games for the Cardinals while filling in at second base for Schoendienst—who injured his shoulder—including five sets of doubleheaders; he notched seven multi-hit games in the month, capped by a 3-for-5 performance in a 12–10 loss to the Cubs on July 6. He raised his average to .213 by late July and amassed a seven-game hitting streak in mid-August—with four of those being two-hit contests—which raised his average as hit as .231. He had one hit on the first of September, his final safety of the season, and finished the year batting .225 with 27 runs scored and 15 RBI in 87 games played.
Return to the minors
LaPointe was assigned to the AAA-level Rochester Red WingsRochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
by St. Louis for the 1949 season. Although he had played in only one career game as a third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball 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...
at the major-league level, he was moved there as the starter for the Red Wings, playing 78 games at the hot corner. As Rochester's primary leadoff hitter, he batted .273 with 12 doubles, 3 home runs, and 35 RBI. He returned to the Phillies' farm system in 1950, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the season's start. Manager Jack Sanford
Jack Sanford
John Stanley Sanford was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball, and later in his career a relief pitcher as well, for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and California Angels. He finished his career playing very briefly with the Kansas City...
moved LaPointe back to shortstop; he batted .237 in 110 games for Toronto. In 393 at-bats that season, he scored 46 runs while batting in 27, and his 17 doubles were the fourth-highest total on the team. After batting .270 in 68 games for the Tulsa Oilers
Tulsa Oilers (baseball)
The Tulsa Oilers, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off in multiple leagues from 1905 to 1976. For most of their history, they played at Oiler Park, which opened on July 11, 1934, and was located on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds at 15th Street and...
of the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
in 1951, LaPointe retired from professional baseball.
Coaching career
After LaPointe's retirement, University of Vermont athletic director Larry Gardner stepped down as the Catamounts' baseball coach and appointed LaPointe to replace him. He coached the Vermont baseball team for 16 seasons from 1952 to 1967. During his tenure, Catamounts baseball teams collected a 216–127 win–loss recordWinning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
and won 13 state championships. During the 1955 season, he returned to a short stint in professional baseball as the playing coach of the Provincial League's
Provincial League (baseball minor league)
The Provincial League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in North American minor league baseball...
Burlington A's, playing third base as the team finished second to the Québec Braves. He led the Catamounts within one game of the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
during the 1956 season, and was honored by both the Vermont Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association—for "outstanding contribution to Vermont sports"—and by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
, who named him the Coach of the Year in 1967, his final season.
Death and legacy
Less than two months after the conclusion of his final season, LaPointe died on September 13, 1967, succumbing to a "lengthy battle" with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Thereafter, the university's baseball field house
Field House
Field House or Fieldhouse is a common name for indoor sports arenas and stadiums, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey.-Colorado:*Balch Fieldhouse, University of Colorado...
at Centennial Field
Centennial Field
Centennial Field is the name of two sports facilities at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. One is used for baseball and the other is now primarily used for men's and women's soccer. It once serving as the home field for the school's football and lacrosse teams...
was renamed the Ralph LaPointe Field House, which was restored and re-dedicated in 1988. LaPointe was elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association
American Baseball Coaches Association
The American Baseball Coaches Association is a baseball coaching organization formed in 1945. It is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.-History:...
Hall of Fame in 1978 and named to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
s list of the top 50 athletes from Vermont in the 20th century in 1999.