Baseball in Wartime - Dom Dallessandro

Dom Dallessandro

Date and Place of Birth: October 3, 1913 Reading, Pennsylvania

Died: April 29, 1988 Indianapolis, Indiana
Baseball Experience: Major League
Position: Outfield
Rank: Unknown
Military Unit: US Army

Area Served: United States

Major League Stats: Dom Dallesandro on Baseball-Almanac

Nicholas Dominic “Dom” Dallessandro was born on October 3, 1913 in Reading, Pennsylvania. The 5-foot-6 outfielder spent two seasons with Reading of the New York-Penn League before joining Syracuse of the International League in 1935. Batting .321 with Syracuse in 1936, he joined the Boston Red Sox for the 1937 season and made his major league debut on April 24. Dallessandro played 68 games and batted .231.

He was back in the minors the following year with San Diego of the Pacific Coast League and won the PCL batting title in 1939 with a .368 average. He was purchased by the Chicago Cubs in 1940 and enjoyed five seasons with the team before entering military service. In 1944, his best season, he batted .304 and drove in 74 runs.

Dallessandro began serving with the Army on March 8, 1945. He was in charge of the gymnasium at Fort Lewis in Washington. Playing regularly on the baseball team his teammates included Frank Kelleher, Ray Mueller and Ron Northey.

He was discharged on April 2, 1946 (the last Cubs’ player to be discharged from military service) and returned to the Cubs but failed to match his previous figures. In 65 games he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and batted just .225. He raised his average to .287 in 1947 but was with Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League in 1948. Dallessandro batted .350 with Indianapolis of the American Association in 1950 but retired from the game after the 1952 season.

Dom Dallessandro passed away on April 29, 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was 74.

Created May 25, 2008.