Del Crandall

Birth Name:

Delmar Wesley Crandall

Birth Date:

March 5, 1930

Birth Place:

Ontario, California

Death Date:

May 5, 2021

Place of Death:

Mission Viejo, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and suffered several strokes

Cemetery Name:

Loma Linda Memorial Park

Claim to Fame:

Sports

Delmar Crandall was an American professional baseball player and manager. Crandall played as a catcher in Major League Baseball and spent most of his career with the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. He led the league in assists a record-tying six times, in fielding percentage four times and in putouts three times. Crandall appeared in 146 games for Boston in 1949-1950, before entering military service during the Korean War. When his two-year hitch was over in March 1953, the Braves departed Boston for Milwaukee, where they benefited from an offense featuring legendary players Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock. Crandall seized the regular catcher's job from Walker Cooper in 1953 and held it for eight years, handling Braves pitchers such as left-hander Warren Spahn and right-handers Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl. From 1953 to 1959, the Braves' pitching staff finished either first or second in the National League in team earned run average every year except 1955. When he passed away at age 91, Del Crandall was the last surviving player to have played for the Boston Braves.

Fun Fact

Crandall and pitcher Warren Spahn started 316 games as a battery, which was passed by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan (who pitched together from 1963 to 1975). Currently. The Spahn-Crandall battery currently ranks as the third best in games played together of any such duo since 1900.

Dell Crandall was inducted into Braves Hall of Fame in 2003. The catcher spent 13 years with the Braves organization, playing in Boston from 1949-1950 and then in Milwaukee from 1953 to 1963. During his 15-year career, he was an 11-time All-Star selection, a 4-time Gold Glove Winner and a member of the 1957 World Series Championship team.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Loma Linda Memorial Park

701 E Bastanchury Road

Fullerton, California, 92835

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Loma Linda Memorial Park in Fullerton, California

Grave Location:

Garden Mausoleum, San Marco South

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery park at the south side of Garden Mausoleum and follow the walkway to the first wall on the left. MLB catcher Del Crandall is in the very first column, the middle marker (3rd from the top and 3rd from the bottom).