User:Luke1776/Johnny Marcuccio

Giovanni Marco "Johnny" Marcuccio (8 August 1895–31 October 1959) was an Italian-American professional baseball player. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, to a farming family, Marcuccio and his family came to the United States in 1913. After being noticed by Connecticut Rangers owner Stanley Horvitz in 1914, he was signed to a contract and debuted with the team in 1915. After 5 years with Rochester, he was sold to the Osceola Suns in 1921. In 1923, he was traded to the Phillies. Marcuccio played his final 11 seasons with Philadelphia, leading the team to 4 World Series titles.

Early Life
Marcuccio was born on 8 August 1895 in Syracuse, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy, the youngest of the four children of Francesco Marcuccio and Bianca Ruvolo. Both his father and mother worked on the farm, which had been in the family for generations, and instillled the value of hard work into their children. Marcuccio began playing baseball with a stick and oranges, forming teams with his siblings and friends across the city. By 1913, Marcuccio's family had grown one of the strongest farms in Sicily, making enough money to send Marcuccio and his brother, Matteo, to the United States upon Johnny's graduation from secondary school. He and Matteo landed in New York in September 1913. Once there, they settled in Brooklyn, where Marcuccio found a job working in a small general store and organized small baseball games on the side. He also took up woodworking, eventually making his own bat. While playing with some friends outside his apartment on April 29, 1914, he was approached by Stanley Horvitz, owner of the Connecticut Rangers, who were in town to play the Brooklyn Dodgers. Horvitz had heard from several sources that there was strong talent on the streets. After seeing Marcuccio hit a ball over two rows of apartment buildings, Horvitz offered him a minor league contract. Marcuccio agreed, and was assigned to the Columbus Kings.

1914
Marcuccio debuted with the Columbus Kings on May 5, 1914, playing centerfield. In his first game, he notched his first professional hit, a double in the Kings' 9–4 win over the Toledo Mud Hens. He hit his first home run on May 7, also against Toledo, a 3-run shot in a 7–5 victory. Marcuccio went on to play every game for the rest of the season, getting into 105 games and hitting 0.341 with 33 doubles, 4 triples, and 27 home runs. Columbus finished the season with a 77–43 record, and matched up with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League Championship. While Buffalo defeated Columbus four games to two, Marcuccio had an impressive series, going 13 for 22 (0.591) with 5 doubles and 3 home runs, including a grand slam in the Kings 13–3 win in game 3.

1915
After Marcuccio's strong 1914 season, he attended Spring Training for the Rangers in 1915. across 17 games he batted 0.295 with 3 doubles and 4 home runs. He returned to Columbus to begin 1915. He hit 0.484 with 15 doubles and 25 home runs for the Kings through just 70 games when was called up to the major leagues.

1915
Marcuccio made his debut with the Rangers on June 22, 1915 starting in right field. In his first game, Marcuccio record his first major league hit and homer, a 2-run blast off of Jack Jannis of the Cincinnati Reds. In his first game, Marcuccio went 3-6 with a home run and 3 RBI. On August 6, 1915, his 20th birthday, Marcuccio hit a 3–run, walk-off home run against the New York Giants, which capped a 7-run ninth inning rally as the Rangers came back from a 9–2 deficit to win 11–10. Marcuccio finished the season by playing in the Rangers last 91 games, and batted 0.358 with 19 doubles, 13 home runs, and 1 triple. The Rangers were 28–33 through their first 61 games, but following Marcuccio's promotion, they went 56–35 to finish in second place in the National League with a 84–68 record.

1916
Despite an excellent rookie season, Marcuccio fell into a sophomore slump in his second season. He suffered a hamstring injury on May 3, which sidelined him for six weeks. He returned on June 17, and recorded 2 outfield assists, gunning down two runners at the plate in a 3–1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He also had four hits in a July 31 game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Overall on the season, Marcuccio played in 119 games, hitting 0.255 with 27 doubles and 13 homers.

1917
Marcuccio had his finest MLB season to that point in 1917. He rebounded from his subpar 1916, and won the batting title by hitting 0.411–along with career highs in hits (224), doubles (41) and home runs (23) across 142 games. The Rangers started the season with a 66–28 record through their first 94 games but suffered a late season slide, finishing just 30–30 in their last 60 games as they finished 96–58, two games behind the New York Giants.

Tungsten Arm O'Doyle incident
On May 25, 1917, versus the Washington Governors, Tungsten Arm O'Doyle started the game against Marcuccio and the Rangers. Facing Marcuccio with two outs in the first inning, O'Doyle accidentaly threw behind Marcuccio, prompting words being exchanged between the two dugouts. Two pitches later, Marcuccio launched a home run. As he rounded the bases, he stared at O'Doyle, who glared back at him and said "I'll get you next time". Marcuccio again faced O'Doyle to lead off the fourth inning—O'Doyle proceeded to lose control of a pitch, hitting Marcuccio in the back with a 100 mph fastball. Marcuccio yelled at O'Doyle, O'Doyle hollered back, and the benches cleared. Seeing the Connecticut dugout emptying, Marcuccio charged the mound and swung at O'Doyle's head, landing a punch in his jaw. Rangers second baseman Horace Glee proceeded to take O'Doyle down by the knees, spraining O'Doyle's left ankle. Several other Rangers and Governors players squared up, while the managers screamed at each other around home plate. It took 16 minutes for the umpires to settle the madness and get back to playing. Marcuccio, Glee, and O'Doyle were ejected. Marcuccio was suspended 5 games for the incident. For intentionally injuring O'Doyle, Glee was suspended the rest of the season. O'Doyle was suspended 1 game for inciting. The game itself was suspended and finished the next day, with Connecticut earning a 1–0 victory (Marcuccio's homer)

On July 4, the Rangers played the Governors again, with O'Doyle and Marcuccio facing each other for the first time since the brawl. O'Doyle got Marcuccio out three times before the pair faced off in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Marcuccio got ahold of a 2–2 curveball and ripped it into the seats for a grand slam, which put the Rangers ahead 5–2.

The two faced off a final time in 1917 on September 13. O'Doyle got the best of Marcuccio, striking him out twice as he finished 0–4 in the Rangers 2–0 loss. After the game, a frustrated Marcuccio criticized O'Doyle's attitude and accused him of cheating:

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No investigation into cheating was ever made by the National League, but Marcuccio and O'Doyle remained rivals for the rest of their careers and lives—even after O'Doyle's retirement in 1927.

1918
Marcuccio exceeded upon his career 1917 season by winning another batting title in 1918. He played in all 130 games, hitting 0.402 with 45 doubles, 5 triples, and 25 homers. On July 14, he hit three home runs in a 19–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The season concluded prematurely due to U.S involvement in World War I. The Rangers finished the year with an 83–47 record, just a game and a half behind the Chicago Cubs, who, following that July 14 loss, went 37–14 in their last 51 games to surge into first. Despite several excellent seasons, Marcuccio had yet to play in a World Series.

1919
Marcuccio entered the 1919 season with a different approach, seeking to hit for more power as opposed to average. After a rough spring training, in which he suffered an oblique injury and hit just 0.189 in 7 games with no home runs, he started the year injured. Marcuccio returned from injury on May 1, after missing the first month of the year. However, he went off in June, hitting 15 home runs during the month and went on to win the home run crown, leading both the National and American Leagues with 39 home runs. Despite hitting 14 more homers, Marcuccio otherwise had his worst statistical season. He missed 36 games, and batted just 0.249 with 16 doubles and 39 home runs. The Rangers went 13–23 with Marcuccio out of the lineup, and finished with a 74–66 record, 22 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.