Remembering Al Ferrara: Former Italian / American Baseball Player & Hollwood Actor

Alfred John Ferrara was born on December 22, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. The muscular Italian American was known as “The Bull” way before Philadelphia’s Greg Luzinski took the moniker in the seventies.

His father Al Sr. was a New York fireman & later in retirement worked the gate at Jackie Gleasons Country Club in Miami Florida. Al's mother died when he was 17 years old. His grandmother raised him & his twin siblings. As a child Ferrara was an accomplished piano player, but he loved to play baseball more than play piano & would follow that passion.

Quotes: Al Ferrara- “I never wanted to play the piano, I wanted to play baseball. But a first-generation Italian woman like my grandmother didn’t know anything about baseball, so I had to play the piano, starting at age eight. I learned the classics. I read music and play the pieces as they were written by Beethoven and Bach. I got pretty good & I learned to use piano to do what I wanted to do. I had a deal with my grandmother that after playing for an hour she would give me a quarter to go to the Bat Away at Coney Island. In those days you could hit about 25 balls for a quarter".

"After a while I got a reputation as a pretty good hitter and men would come around when I was hitting and put more quarters in the machine so I could hit for maybe a half-hour. Finally, I got my grandmother to agree that if I were to become Mr. Morvillo’s number one student I could give up piano and play baseball. When I was 16, I went on last as the number one student, kissed my grandmother, and never touched the piano again"." 

Ferrara attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, the same school MLB players: John Franco, Sandy Koufax, Pete Falcone, Bob & Ken Aspromonte, Sal Campisi, Kevin Baez, Mike Fiore & Luis Lopez attended. Other notable alumni are for Mets owner, Fred Wilpon, actor, Paul Sorvino TV personality Larry King, & artist Peter Max.

Dodgers Career: By 1959, Al got signed by his favorite boyhood team, the Dodgers who were now relocated in Los Angeles, California.

He spent three years in the Dodgers minors, eventually batting .321 at AAA Spokane in 1963 earning him a call up to that year's World Champion Dodgers team.  

MLB Debut: On July 30th, he made his debut striking out against the Mets Tracy Stallard as a pinch hitter in a 5-1 Mets win at Dodger Stadium.

On August 8th he hit his first of career HR, coming at Wriley Filed off the Cubs Bob Buhl in a Dodgers 5-4 loss. Overall, he played in 21 games the rest of the season, going 7-44, batting just .159. 

In 1964, Al was back at AAA Spokane for the entire season, hitting 24 HRs while batting .280. 

These were the glory days of the 1960’s Dodgers, featuring the pitching staffs of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Claude Osteen & Ron Perranoski. With players featuring Wes Parker, Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, Willie Davis, Ron Fairly, Johnny Roseboro & Frank Howard, winners of two World Series Championships and three NL pennants.

Quotes- Al Ferrara: "Playing behind Koufax was great. he was a great teammate, a great guy, the best pitcher I ever saw. The years I played with him 63-66 he was completely dominant. You never thought he'd lose. He wanted to strike everyone out".

1965 World Champions: In 1965, he made the Dodgers out of Spring Training, where he would play behind Ron Fairly in right field. On May 15th, he hit a three run HR off the Cubs Dick Ellsworth leading the Dodgers to a 3-1 win. 

By the end of June, he was only hitting .179 & was sent back down to AAA until a return in September. He would have another multi-three RBI game against the Cubs that month as well.

The Dodgers & Giants battled for first place all season. On September 16th, the Dodgers fell to 4.5 games back, but a 13-game win streak, while winning 15 of their last 16 games won them the NL Pennant. Al hit .210 on the year & did not play in the World Series.

1966 NL Champions: In 1966 Al had a better year, batting .270 with 5 HRs and 23 RBIs playing in 63 games. On June 7th, he had a multi-HR game, hitting a pair of HRs in an 8-6 win at Wrigley Field.

Walk Off Hit: On July 26th, after Jim Gilliam tied up the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning, Ferrara followed with a walk off base hit off the Phillies Bob Buhl for the exciting 3-2 win.

1966 World Series: Ferrara managed to get one at bat in the World Series loss to the mighty Baltimore Orioles & their pitching staff. 

In Game #4 of the Orioles sweep Ferrara got a pinch-hit base hit off Dave McNally in the 8th inning.

In 1967 he had one of his biggest seasons, playing as the Dodgers fourth outfielder, behind Ron Fairly, Willie Davis & Lou Johnson. He batted .277 with 16 HRs 16 doubles & 50 RBIs. 

Hollywood Career: Ferrara enjoyed playing in Los Angeles, because he also had other talents & made himself a second career as a part time Hollywood actor.

Classic Television Shows- Batman: He got to play two small parts in the original 1960's classic Batman television series, spanning three episodes. 

First, in March 1966 he played the henchmen "Trap Door" for the villainess' Black Widow, played by Tallulah Bankhead. 

In 1968, Season three, Al played "Atlas" muscle man, henchman to Minerva, played by actress Za-Za Gabor, Minerva's health spa, in what was the legendary show's final episode. 

Gilligan's Island:  In 1967, Al played a headhunter, along with teammate Jim LeFebvre in the Gilligan’s Island episode "High Man on the Totem Pole". 

Ferrara would also make an uncredited guest spot as a musician in the great sixties rock film, Riot on the Sunset Strip. In the 1970's he would appear in the TV show Baretta (1975), as a contestant on Match Game, as well as the films Mansion of the Doomed & Dracula's Blood.

In 1968 he played in just two games before breaking his ankle. He was left unprotected, then got drafted by the San Diego Padres in that year's expansion draft.

Quotes- Al Ferrara: "I'm batting cleanup for the Dodgers & I break my ankle, then never play for the Dodgers again. You go from a first-class organization to the Padres. On my first day I go to take a shower after working out & I take a towel. I ask for another towel & they told me, you're only allowed one. That's when I realized I was in for a lot of surprises there."

Padres Career: In 1969 Ferrara, now an original Padre, would see the most playing time of his career over the next two seasons. 

In 1969 his .952 fielding % was 5th best in among all left fielders in the NL. That year he hit 14 HRs with career highs in RBIs (56) & doubles (22) while batting .260. 

Grand Slam & Multi-HR Games: On May 2nd, he hit his only career grand slam HR, coming off the Reds George Culver in an 8-5 win at Crosley Field. On May 31st, he had his second career multi-HR game, hitting a pair in Montreal off Carroll Sembera in a 6-2 win over the Expos. Ferrara would have 12 multi-RBI games on the season.

 In 1970, his 103 hits were a career high matching a career best .277 batting average. 

Tom Seaver's 19 K Game: In a historic Mets game on April 22, 1970, at Shea Stadium, Ferrara hit a HR off Tom Seaver for the only Padres run what was to be a Seaver classic in a 2-1 Mets win on the first official "Earth Day". 

That afternoon Tom Seaver would strike out a then record 19 batters, including a record ten consecutive batters from the 6th to the 9th innings. In the top of the 6th, Ferrara struck out to ed the inning, as he was the first of the ten strike outs. Seaver went thru the next three innings striking out eight straight batters. 

In the bottom of the 9th with two outs & the crowd on their feet aware of the record setting moment, Ferrara went down swinging. He was Seaver's last K victim, the tenth straight, making the final out of the game.

Ferrara said he had a lot of fun thru the years being part of that record, stating Seaver was one of the toughest pitchers he ever faced.

Trivia: On June 25th, 2021, at Citi Field, the Mets Michael Conforto matched Ferrara by becoming Aaron Nola's first & tenth strike out consecutive victim. 

Multi-HR / RBI Games: On July 26th he had his third career multi-HR game with two HRs off the Phillies Lowell Palmer in a 16-2 bashing by the Padres at Connie Mack Stadium. That season he had a dozen more multi-RBI games.

In 1971, after 17 games he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds finishing his career there at the end of the season.

In his eight-season career he batted .259 with 358 hits 60 doubles 51 HRs & 198 RBIs in 574 games.

Retirement: After his playing days he continued with acting &worked at the Matroni Marquis hotel in Los Angeles as a greeter. 

He then went into the home improvement business, eventually started his own business lasting 30 years. 

In 2008, after the recession& needing income, he called the Dodgers. They gladly welcomed him back & put him to work as a team ambassador working in community relations. He would talk to students about the dangers of drugs & tobacco. He would also read books to younger children.

Spring Training: Ferrara was a frequent visitor to Vero Beach, Florida's old Dodgertown Spring Training Facility.

Family: Al was married twice & had one son, Al the third, who resides in West Islip, New York. Most recently it was reported he & his partner Kay have been together over 35 years.

Passing: Al passed away in November 2024 at the age of 84