Albert Francis "Al" Gionfriddo was a slightly built 5 ft 6 in and 165 lb. professional baseball outfielder who batted and threw left-handed. He made his major league debut on September 23, 1944 at the age of 22 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a career .266 hitter whose best year was in 1945 when he hit .284 with 9 triples and 74 runs scored for the Pirates. He played in the majors for four years. He was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Pirates midway through the 1947 season, and he is most famous for his heroic catch of a drive off the bat of the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio in Game 6 of the 1947 World Series. The Dodgers led the Yankees 8?5 going into the bottom of the 6th inning when Gionfriddo was brought in as a defensive replacement. Snuffy Stirnweiss and Yogi Berra were on base when DiMaggio drove the ball to the 415 marker. Gionfriddo raced across the field and caught the ball several steps before crashing into the bullpen gate. In one of the most famous images in baseball history, the taciturn DiMaggio shook his head and kicked at the dirt in frustration. 

March 8th, 1922 in   /  Died:   Mar 14th, 2003