Marcel Serventi
| Date and Place of Birth: | February 17, 1916 Oakland, CA |
| Date and Place of Death: | July 5, 1941 Oakland, CA |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Private First Class |
| Military Unit: | US Army |
| Area Served: | United States |
Baseball had been Marcel Serventi's life. He'd had a chance to pitch in the Pacific Coast League and now he was proudly serving his country in the uniform of the United States Army.
Growing up in Oakland, California, was all about baseball for
Marcello L. "Major" Serventi. At the age of 16, he was pitching for
Technical High School, the O.K. Batter ies sandlot team, the St. Columba
team of the Catholic Youth Organization league, and Post 5, the Bay Area
American Legion junior baseball champions. A year later he was playing
semi-pro baseball with the E. Bercovich and Son Furniture team in the
East Bay Summer League, and attracting a lot of attention from the local
Pacific Coast League team. In the summer of 1934, it was announced that
he had been signed by the Oakland Oaks for 1935.
Serventi made some strong appearances for the Oaks during spring
training but was farmed out to the Vancouver Senior A League where he
played for the Athletics and won 12 games, returning to the Oaks in
September to make three appearances.[1]
Back with Oakland in 1936, Serventi made eight appearances for the team
for a 1-0 record. His only win of the season came on September 12 at
Sacramento when he beat the Solons, 7-3, struck out nine and contributed
a run-scoring double. But the game made the local news for another
reason. "[Serventi] set up a record that had old-time fans still
scratching their heads late last night," revealed the Oakland Tribune
the following day. "Not a single putout or assist was registered by the
three Oakland outfielders during the game."[2]
In 1937, Serventi made 17 early-season appearances for the Oaks, mainly
as a relief pitcher, and was given his release in June. He immediately
signed with the Seattle Rainiers who farmed him to the Wenatchee Chiefs
of the Class B Western International League, where he was 10-11 with a
4.08 ERA and an allstar selection.
Serventi spent 1938 with the Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League. He
made 26 appearances and was 2-4 with a 4.55 ERA. In 1939, the club sent
him to the Spokane Hawks of the Western International League, where he
established himself as an excellent starting pitcher. His 17-13 record -
which included five wins in eight days - was a career best and he led
the league with 266 innings pitched, while his 194 strikeouts was second
best in the league. Serventi must have hoped for a spot on the Randers'
pitching staff for 1940, but found himself back at Spokane where he put
in another sterling performance and was 16-10 despite an inflated 6.09
ERA.
On February 1, 1941, Serventi entered military service. He was stationed
at Fort Ord, on the Monterey Bay Peninsula about 100 miles south of
Oakland, and traveled each Sunday to Oakland to play with the semi-pro
Ben's Golden Glow team. Serventi had the makings of an excellent
soldier. He was 24 years old, quickly rose to the rank of private first
class, and was well on his way to becoming a corporal. On July 4, 1941,
Serventi was returning to Fort Ord from Oakland when his car smashed
into a power pole. He suffered severe injuries and died the following
day.
"The story of Serventi's death rated only a couple paragraphs on the
bottom of a sports page," eulogized Oakland Tribune sports editor Art
Cohn. "But to us, his friends, we want to think of him as a champion who
didn't quite make the grade, a swell fellow who if he didn't make a name
in baseball left one as a soldier."[3]
|
Year |
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
IP |
ER |
BB |
SO |
W |
L |
ERA |
| 1935 | Oakland | PCL | AA | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1936 | Oakland | PCL | AA | 8 | 23 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 5.47 |
| 1937 | Oakland | PCL | AA | 17 | 43 | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | - |
| 1937 | Wenatchee | Western Int'l | B | 26 | 179 | 81 | 94 | 133 | 10 | 11 | 4.08 |
| 1938 | Seattle | Western Int'l | B | 26 | 85 | 57 | 45 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 4.55 |
| 1939 | Spokane | Western Int'l | B | 40 | 266 | 114 | 101 | 194 | 17 | 13 | 3.86 |
| 1940 | Spokane | Western Int'l | B | 35 | 210 | 142 | 119 | 115 | 16 | 10 | 6.09 |
Marcel Serventi (left) with catcher, Tony Goulart, playing for the E. Bercovich and Son semi-pro team in 1934
Marcel Serventi (right) with catcher, Joe Annunzio, playing for the E. Bercovich and Son semi-pro team in 1935
Notes
1. The Vancouver Senior A League was made up of players who had been
sent to the city from various clubs in the Pacific Northwest. It became
the Class B Western International League in 1937. The Athletics were
operated by long-time professional club owner and general manager Bob
Brown, a regional legend.
2. Oakland Tribune, September 13, 1936.
3. Oakland Tribune, July 9, 1941.
Thanks to Astrid van Erp for help with photos for this biography
Date Added February 20, 2012 Updated August 3, 2017
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