Two Men in Blue
 Former Pacific Coast League umpires Gil Stratton and Cece Carlucci attended the 2008 APBPA banquet. |
Dick Beverage of the Association of Professional Ball Players of America gave me the above photo of Gil Stratton and Cece Carlucci, two members who passed away within the last year.
Gil Stratton was known to generations of Los Angeles television viewers as the sports reporter for The Big News on KNXT (now KCBS Channel 2). But his career was so much more than that. He also umpired in the old Pacific Coast League, and had a career as an actor. Stratton played Cookie in the 1953 movie Stalag 17; his character narrated the story.
Stratton passed away last October in Toluca Lake at age 86 from congestive heart failure.
Cece Carlucci was one of the more prominent umpires in the long history of the old PCL. He was one of the umpires during perhaps the most infamous brawl in PCL history. On August 2, 1953, the Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels went at it for a full 30 minutes before the LAPD restored control. Click Here to read about the brawl, including photos of that event.
Carlucci was inducted in the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003. He passed away last September at age 90 from cancer.
The 2009 APBPA banquet was February 7. Click Here to watch video of the event. Windows Media Player and a broadband (cable modem, DSL) Internet connection are required.
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