Tributes to Del Crandall’s life and impressive major league baseball career have filled news outlets and sports websites nationwide since his passing last week at age 91.
In Fullerton, we remember him not only as a great baseball player, but as a friend and neighbor. Crandall lived most of his life in Fullerton and he was Fullerton’s favorite son during baseball’s Golden Era.
Crandall was born in Ontario in 1930, the only son and middle child of Richard and Nancy Crandall. The family moved to Fullerton when Crandall was just 6 years old and even at that early age, he had already confided in his mother his desire to one day be a professional baseball player.
The Crandalls lived at 137 E. Maple (now Valencia), and Crandall attended Maple Elementary School. One day in fifth grade while preparing for a baseball game, the boys lined up for position assignments. Crandall found himself towards the back of the line, and the other boys had already chosen pitcher, shortstop and center field, so he accepted the catcher’s mask and mitt from coach Art Johnson.
It was a decision that changed the course of his life.
A self-described “short and pudgy kid,” Crandall said that he was under 5 feet tall when he entered Fullerton Union High School, but “spurted up” into his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. He would soon become a top prospect in the area.
Crandall was mentored at catching by Fullerton’s Parks & Recreation Director Pep Lemon. Lemon coached Fullerton’s semi-pro baseball team and had caught professionally in the minor leagues for one season.
“With the amount of time that I spent at Amerige Park,” Crandall said, “Pep Lemon was like my second father. Everything I learned was from Pep Lemon. He was the most influential man in my baseball career.”
As a 16-year-old, Lemon let Crandall catch Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Hal Gregg. Hal was from Anaheim and played for Fullerton’s team during the off season.
“It was the first time I caught a big leaguer,” Crandall remembered. “It made me feel like, ‘I can do this’.”
During his senior year of high school, the personable and popular star catcher was elected senior class president and lead the Indians to a Sunset League title.
Another decision that changed the course of his life was when Frances Sorrells (FUHS ’48) asked him to a high school dance. His acceptance to that invitation set him on a path that led to a 62-year marriage and seven kids.
Crandall graduated from FUHS in 1947. He spent the summer helping Fullerton’s American Legion baseball team to another league championship before signing a professional contract with the Boston Braves.
After just a year-and-a-half in the minor leagues, Crandall, age 19, made his major league debut on June 17, 1949. He played in 67 games that season, becoming the youngest starting catcher in major league history. He finished as the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award.
Del and Frances Crandall eloped to Las Vegas in March 1951 prior to Crandall’s two-year stint in the Army during the Korean War. Crandall was back with the Braves for the 1953 season at their new home in Milwaukee.
In Milwaukee, Crandall would become a major league star. The Braves team captain, he was selected to 11 All-Star Games and won four Gold Gloves and a World’s Championship over the New York Yankees in 1957.
Just days after the final out, Fullerton welcomed their hometown hero back to town with a “Del Crandall Day,” a downtown parade, and a dinner at the Elks Hall in the Williams Company Building.
During his playing days, Crandall spent most of his off-seasons in Fullerton. He worked for the city’s Parks & Recreation Department teaching kids baseball skills at Amerige Park on weekends.
He was a member of several community organizations and regularly served in ceremonial roles around town including a 1958 ribbon-cutting at Union Oil Fields, the new home of Fullerton’s Golden Hill Little League.
Even though Crandall was a major league all-star, his name, address and phone number still appeared in Fullerton’s phone book. Many Fullertonians tell stories about seeing Crandall around town and his willingness to stop and chat about baseball or sign an autograph.
“Dad was a humble man,” Crandall’s son, Bill, said. “He was just a good man, a good example of what a man should be. He treated everybody fairly. He didn’t take his celebrity seriously at all.”
Crandall retired in 1966 after 16 seasons in the major leagues. He and Frances opened a restaurant at Harbor Boulevard and Brookdale Place called Del Crandall’s Caesar’s Family Hofbrau. The restaurant was short-lived, but fondly remembered by Fullertonians as a place to have a sandwich and a chat with a local legend.
To accommodate their growing family, the Crandalls moved from their East Union Avenue home to a bigger ranch style house on Rosarita Avenue.
Crandall returned to the Grand Ol’ Game in 1969 managing in the Dodgers minor league system. He got his Big-League managerial call-up in 1973 and returned to Milwaukee to manage the Brewers.
Later he coached for the California Angels and managed the Dodgers’ Triple-A team before being given another shot at the majors.
He skippered a weak Seattle Mariners team for parts of two seasons (1983 and 1984). When he was fired by the Mariners, a reporter asked him what his future plans were. Crandall responded, “We’re gonna get out of here and go home to Fullerton.”
Del and Frances Crandall downsized to a smaller home in Brea after the kids left home. Frances Crandall was diagnosed with dementia and Crandall was her caregiver until her death in August 2013.
Eventually, he needed help himself. He lived his last few years in assisted-living facilities in Orange and Mission Viejo, where he died on May 5 surrounded by family.
Crandall’s career statistics appear to place him just short of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will forever be a Hall of Famer to his friends in Fullerton.
David Jerome, better known as Mr. Bucketlist, is an author and resident of Fullerton. Email him at dave@mrbucketlist.com.
