Pete Zarrilla
| Date and Place of Birth: | August 8, 1922 New Castle, PA |
| Date and Place of Death: | August 9, 1945 Smiley, TX |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Outfield |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | US Army Air Force |
| Area Served: | United States |
Peter J. Zarrilla played football and basketball at New Castle High
School in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and played the outfield with the
Columbus Club of the City Baseball League. In late February 1940, he was
one of five local youngsters who attended the All-American Baseball
School at Palatka, Florida. With Babe Ruth as one of the instructors,
the training camp ran for five weeks and Zarrilla began turning heads
with his hitting, defensive work and speed. "Scouts of the Indianapolis
team of the American Association have cast covetous eyes on the work of
Pete Zarrilla," announced the New Castle News. "He has been hitting the
ball hard and is fast learning the rudiments of big league baseball. He
is one of the fastest men in the Florida camp." [1]
In late March, Zarrilla was given a tryout with the St. Augustine Saints
of the Class D Florida State League. Although he was not signed by the
Saints, he was offered a contract on April 10 with the Hollywood Chiefs
of the Class D Florida East Coast League. The 17-year-old's baseball
career in Florida, however, was short-lived. After a handful of games he
returned home to New Castle and played the rest of the season with the
Lawrence Independents, City League champions.
Zarrilla had another professional tryout in 1941, this time with the
Knoxville Smokies of the Class A1 Southern Association, but was also
released early in the year. In 1942, he gave the professional game
another try and signed with the Greeneville Burley Cubs of the Class D
Appalachian League. He got off to a great start and was batting .287
when the team disbanded on June 14. Zarrilla was then picked up by the
Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox of the same league, but the team already had
an established outfield and he returned home to New Castle, where he
played for St. Margaret's in the City-County Independent Baseball
League.
Zarrilla entered military service on September 19, 1942, and served with
the Army Air Force at Randolph Field, Texas. He later served at Foster
Field in Victoria, Texas, where he was an outfielder on the Foster Field
Falcons - a strong contender in the South Coast Victory League - and
played halfback on the football team. He also had time for a little
romance and on November 1, 1944, he married Betty Cass, a personnel
clerk at Foster Field.
On August 9, 1945 - the day after his 23rd birthday - the Falcons
traveled to Childress Army Air Base in Texas, for a ballgame. The
Falcons won the contest and five of the players - Zarrilla,
Duard Lawson
(an amateur first baseman from Princeton, Texas),
Harold Phillips (a
semi-pro catcher from Georgia),
Chester Seipp (a semi-pro shortstop from
Pasadena, Maryland) and
Lester Clotiaux (a Refinery League catcher from
Nederland, Texas), along with Second Lieutenant Peter R. Davis (a
veteran transport pilot with 1,500 hours to his credit) flew back to
Foster Field in a twin-engine Beechcraft AT-7C airplane. On the return
journey the plane crashed and burst into flames near Smiley, 60 miles
east of San Antonio, Texas. Corporal Zarrilla and the other five men on
board were all killed. [2]
Zarrilla's son, Peter, Jr., was just one month old when his father was killed. Corporal Zarrilla's body was returned to New Castle and now rests at St. Lucy's Cemetery.
|
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
|
| 1940 | Hollywood | Florida E. Coast | D | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1941 | Knoxville | Southern Assoc | A1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1942 |
Greeneville/ Elizabethton |
Appalachian | D | 36 | 143 | 23 | 41 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 25 | .287 |
A Beechcraft AT-7C. The type Pete Zarrilla was aboard on August 9, 1945.
Notes
1. New Castle News, March 7, 1940
Thanks to Peter Zarrilla, Davis O. Barker and New Castle Public Library for help with this biography.
Date Added May 31, 2012 Updated June 13, 2014
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