Former Chattanooga Lookout and long time southern California scout George Genovese died Sunday at the age of 93.
Genovese played 92 games in his one season in Chattanooga, batted .227 with seven doubles and five triples.
The Staten Island, NY native spent 12 seasons in the minors with his best season coming in 1948 in Denver when he batted .312.
A shortstop, Genovese was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals at age 18 as an amateur free agent in 1940 and spent all but three games in 12 seasons in the minor leagues.
He played three games with the Washington Senators of the American League during the 1950 season with one walk and one run scored.
He spent his first eight seasons of pro ball in the Cardinals organization, three of which were lost to service in World War II.
He served as a player-manager in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization for three seasons, then became a minor-league manager for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants made him a full-time scout in 1963.
At one point in a September 1973 game against the San Diego Padres, the Giants simultaneously fielded seven players Genovese had signed. Two nights later against the Dodgers, it happened again. One of the two players he didn’t sign, Tito Fuentes, had played for Genovese at Double-A in 1963.
In a career that spanned six decades, Genovese prepared reports on players from Bobby Bonds to Giancarlo Stanton.
In his memoir “A Scout’s Report,” co-authored with Dan Taylor, Genovese listed 44 future major players whom he signed.
After being let go by the Giants in 1994, Genovese was hired by Dodgers general manager Fred Claire in 1995. He continued to scout for the Dodgers on a full- or part-time basis for more than a decade.
Military Service: Genovese joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 and was part of the 557th Air Service Group that, according to his memoir, was stationed on the island of Iejima during the battle of Okinawa in April 1945.
He recalled sleeping on a supply ship when it came under attack. As he ran for cover, Genovese wrote that he fell 15 feet onto a lower deck and separated his shoulder. According to his memoir, “my throwing arm, which had been considered my strongest baseball attribute, would never be the same.”
Genovese, a 60-year resident of North Hollywood, was preceded in death by his wife June. He is survived by a daughter, Kathleen Haworth of North Hollywood, son-in-law David Haworth and granddaughters Rose and Holly Haworth.
Most of this information came from a story written by JP Hoornstra, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
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