Al Brancato

Who was Al Brancato?

Albert Brancato was a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1939 to 1941 and in 1945.

His career in the majors was interrupted by military service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Brancato served in the Pacific theater and played on the Navy's all-star baseball team, composed of major league players in military service. While entertaining the troops at the all-star games, Brancato appeared alongside Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Bill Dickey, Tom Ferrick, Bob Feller, and Eddie Collins, Jr. He holds the post-1940 record for errors in a season, with 61. He was born in Philadelphia, one of seven children of Italian immigrant parents.

Brancato died on June 14, 2012, at age 93 at Sunrise at Granite Run, an assisted living facility in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He had recently moved to the facility in failing health and had broken his hip several months before his death. He was a long-time resident of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania with his wife, Isabel, to whom he was married for 69 years. His children included Sister Helen Brancato, Albert Jr., and David Brancato.