On May 7th, 1960, Dodger legend Carl Furillo played his last Major League game. He went 1 for 1 vs. the Phillies.

Carl Furillo came up as a rookie with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946. This was a year before Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers to break the Color Barrier. Having been born in a small town outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, and gifted with a great outfield arm, Furillo was nicknamed “The Reading Rifle.”

I have no personal memories of him as a player. But for some reason his name has been a part of my baseball-life for as long as I can remember. Is it because he played his last game on the day I was born? Did some Dodger fan in my childhood make that connection for me and share it with me?

For whatever reason, when I collected baseball cards, Carl Furillo was one of the players I most often sought to find. Compared to other Brooklyn Dodger cards his cards were quite affordable. They became a pride of my collection.

In 1952 Furillo had the worst BA in the majors (.247). But in the off-season he had cataracts surgery. When he came back for the 1953 season he hit an amazing .344 to win the National League Batting title. He ended up as a lifetime .299 hitter.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, Furillo went with them. He is the last Brooklyn Dodger to wear the number 6 and first Los Angeles Dodger to wear number 6. Furillo died in 1989 at the age of 66. Too soon, obviously, but somehow appropriate.

Here is a quote about “The Reading Rifle” from Roger Kahn from his book The Boys of Summer.

Carl Furillo was pure ballplayer. In his prime he stood six feet tall and weighed 190 pounds and there was a fluidity to his frame you seldom see, among such sinews. His black hair was thick, and tightly curled. His face was strong and smooth. He had the look of a young indomitable centurion … I cannot imagine Carl Furillo in his prime as anything other than a ballplayer. Right field in Brooklyn was his destiny.

• Roger Kahn (cf. The Boys of Summer)