Baseball notable Cliff Dapper passes away at age 91

Cliff Dapper, who was known outside of Fallbrook for having a .471 batting average in the major leagues and for being traded for announcer Ernie Harwell but who was known in Fallbrook for his support of local baseball, passed away February 8. He was 91.

"He was quite a guy and important to an awful lot of us who were in Fallbrook," said Major League Baseball vice president of umpiring Mike Port, a 1963 Fallbrook High School graduate. "He brought a lot to all of us."

Port was in high school when he first met Dapper, who helped coach Fallbrook High School's baseball team and also coached Port on the Fallbrook Merchants semi-pro team. "Was always there, always available," Port said of Dapper.

"He was one of the finest men I've ever met. Terrific person. Just a tough, tough man, but with a great heart," said former Fallbrook High School baseball coach Bill Waite. "Cliff was in many ways one of the fathers of Fallbrook baseball, one of the ones who truly made a difference over the years, a truly outstanding individual."

Dapper was fierce in blocking the plate while playing baseball as a catcher, but his off-fiend demeanor contrasted with his reputation on the diamond. "A real gentleman, just a super guy," said San Diego baseball historian Bill Swank, who joined Dapper and several other area professional baseball players for breakfast on occasion. "A very considerate, decent man."

One of the ballplayers who joins Swank for the breakfasts is Fallbrook resident Dick Adams. "He was a great guy," Adams said of Dapper.

Adams cited Dapper's integrity. "You could count on him," Adams said.

Dapper, the older of two children, was born in Los Angeles on January 2, 1920. His father, who was from Austria, worked in a foundry. Dapper played baseball at Washington High School in Los Angeles before his 1939 graduation.

Dapper also played for the American Legion team which reached the national finals in 1937 before losing three games to two in the five-game championship series. He began catching while in American Legion ball.

In 1938, when he was still in high school, Dapper attended a tryout camp for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. Stars manager Red Killefer gave Dapper a job warming up pitchers in the bullpen. That year the Stars had a working agreement with Bellingham of the Class B Western International League, and Dapper spent some time in Bellingham before returning to Hollywood for the 1939 season.

Dapper caught in 88 games for the Stars in 1939 and batted .316 in 209 at-bats with one homer and 32 runs batted in. He earned the Stars' starting job to begin the 1940 season but broke his thumb in the first week and missed six

weeks of play. Dapper played 125 games for the 1941 Stars, batting .277 with eight home runs and 63 RBI in 433 at-bats, and he led all Pacific Coast League catchers with 91 assists.

In fall 1941 the Stars sold Dapper to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dapper reported to the Dodgers for Spring Training in 1942, which initially took place in Havana, Cuba, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. He opened the 1942 season with the Dodgers, who had won the 1941 National League pennant, and made a trip to the other National League cities before enlisting in the Navy.

Dapper made his major league debut at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field on April 19, 1942, taking over for starting catcher Billy Sullivan. In his second major league at-bat, Dapper singled against Philadelphia Phillies reliever Paul Masterson to drive in Pete Reiser for the Dodgers' final run in their 6-2 victory. Dapper also had two putouts in his first game, including a catch of Lloyd Waner's foul pop-up for the game's final out.

Dapper's first major league start and only major league home run both took place on April 26 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. He homered off Ike Pearson over Shibe Park's left field fence, and he also had a run-scoring single that day. His only major league double was hit May 1 at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field and drove in two runs.

Dapper's final major league game was the second game of a May 3 doubleheader at St. Louis' Sportsman's Park. He was hitless in three at-bats, his only hitless game in the six major league contests in which he batted, but he participated in his only major league double play as the middleman between right fielder Johnny Rizzo and first baseman Dolf Camilli. The game was called after 5 1/2 innings due to darkness with the Cardinals being awarded a 4-2 victory.

Dapper had eight hits, including the home run and double, in 17 at-bats for the Dodgers in 1942, giving him a slugging percentage of .706 as well as his .471 batting average. Two walks provided him with a .526 on-base percentage. Dapper drove in nine runs and scored twice. He caught in all eight of his major league games and accumulated 20 putouts and three assists with no errors.

The Dodgers' two-game series May 6-7 at Chicago's Wrigley Field was rained out, and after the Dodgers returned to Brooklyn Dapper left the club to enter the Navy. He broke a leg while in the service and never returned to the majors.

Dapper spent four years in the Navy and returned to the Dodgers' organization in 1946, when he played for the team's American Association farm club in St. Paul and the Dodgers' Southern Association affiliate in Mobile. He spent 1947 with Mobile and 1948 with Montreal of the International League.

Montreal won the International League regular season by a 13 1/2-game margin over second-place Newark, won the two post-season series competitions to earn the league championship, and then swept St. Paul to win the Junior World Series played between the American Association and International League champions. Duke Snider played 77 games for Montreal in 1948, hitting 17 home runs before being promoted to the Dodgers.

After the 1948 season Atlanta Crackers owner Earl Mann asked Dapper if he was interested in becoming a manager. The transaction involved one of baseball's most unusual trades; the Dodgers received Harwell, who would subsequently broadcast for the Detroit Tigers and be selected for the announcers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1949 Dapper's managerial debut produced a 71-82 record, giving the Crackers fifth place in the Southern Association.

Dapper returned to the Hollywood Stars for 1950 and 1951, and he spent part of 1951 as the player-manager for Eugene of the Far West League.

In 1952 Dapper was the player-manager for Billings of the Class C Pioneer League. Dapper tied Ogden's Steve Mesner for the league batting title with a .343 average. Billings had a 73-59 record to place third in the season standings, five games behind first-place Pocatello, and in the playoffs Pocatello won two of three games from Billings.

The Billings players included Dick Stuart, who led the Pioneer League with 31 home runs, 115 runs scored, and 121 runs batted in and tied for the league lead with 161 hits. Pitcher Nicolas Genesta led the league with a 1.58 earned run average, and Billings led the Pioneer League in attendance with 142,208 fans over the season.

Dapper managed Billings to a 71-60 record in 1953, finishing third in the league and 18 games behind first-place Ogden. Billings lost to Great Falls in the playoffs, two games to none. In 1954 Dapper managed Billings to a 76-56 record and second place, 2 1/2 games behind Salt Lake City, but Great Falls won two of its three playoff games against Billings.

Dapper managed Eugene to the Class B Northwest League championship in 1955. Eugene won the first-half championship, had the best regular-season record at 79-45, and defeated Salem four games to two in the post-season championship series. Eugene had a 63-67 record under Dapper in 1956, when the club finished fourth in the seven-team league.

Dapper's final season in professional baseball was as the player-manager of the Pioneer League's Salt Lake City club in 1957. Salt Lake City won the first half of the season, although it had a fifth-place overall regular-season record of 61-64 and finished 17 1/2 games behind first-place Billings. In the playoffs Billings defeated Salt Lake City, three games to two.

"He was a very well-regarded minor league manager," Port said.

"He was a hell of a ballplayer," Adams said. "When you slid into home plate you hit a brick wall. He never gave you an inch."

In 1949 Dapper had developed a three-acre avocado grove in La Habra Heights as well as an off-field relationship with Snider, who was also a Southern California native. Dapper's grove caused Snider to become interested in raising avocados, and Walter Beck advised Dapper to look into Fallbrook. Dapper went to Fallbrook for a picnic and met Bill Shaw, who had a 60-acre plot in the Sleeping Indian area. Duke and Beverly Snider purchased 30 acres and Cliff and Stanna Dapper bought 30 acres. They grew their own trees and installed an irrigation system. By that time Snider was at the peak of his career, and Dapper retired from baseball to develop the grove for Snider and himself.

Dapper also worked at a Fallbrook bowling alley owned by Snider.

Dapper moved to Fallbrook in 1956. He had the Fallbrook Merchants for a decade before abandoning the team due to cost considerations. "He would get uniforms through Duke," Waite said. "He would pay for bats, balls, umpires, catchers equipment, whatever was necessary."

The Fallbrook Merchants included local adults, college players, and high school youth. "He drove to the games, he coached the team. Cliff did everything. He made sure it was run and run correctly, and he did it in a very professional manner," Waite said.

Home games were played on the high school field while the team traveled throughout the region to face opponents. "It was just a matter of getting organized and playing baseball, but he was always there," Port said.

"It was just a collection of people playing baseball," Port said. "It was really baseball in a very pure sense."

Parents of the youth players tolerated Dapper's on-field demeanor. "Our parents had no qualms whatsoever about the way Cliff was," Port said. "We were going to play the game the right way and behave at that."

Waite coached Dapper's oldest son in Colt League ball and at Potter Junior High School and coached Dapper's middle son on the Fallbrook High School baseball team. "Cliff was always willing to do whatever we asked of him to do," Waite said.

"Cliff was a blue-collar baseball person," Port said.

Cliff and Stanna Dapper were married in 1944. They had been high school classmates, although Stanna attended UCLA before their marriage. They had three sons and a daughter. Stanna Dapper passed away in October 2008, and Dapper moved to an assisted living facility in Fallbrook after his wife's death.

All three of Dapper's sons - Curtis, Duker, and Ross - played baseball, football, and basketball for Fallbrook High School, and Duker Dapper played football for Stanford. Dapper's sons were all catchers at Fallbrook High School, although Curtis also played first base. Curtis graduated in 1970; Duker graduated in 1977; and Ross graduated in 1980.

"He was a real tough old-time baseball guy," Waite said.

"He was a very humble guy," Swank said. "He loved to talk baseball, but he wouldn't force it on anybody."

Swank noted that at a Pacific Coast League reunion at the San Diego Hall of Champions, Dapper was the first to arrive.

"Cliff just loved talking baseball," Swank said.

Swank and Adams last saw Dapper at the assisted living facility shortly before Christmas and talked about baseball memories. "It really brought the sparkle back in his eyes," Swank said. "We really did boost his spirits."

A graveside service was held for Dapper on February 14 at Riverside National Cemetery.

---Related story---

Dapper predicted Red Sox championship

Joe Naiman

Village News Correspondent

The various interviews of Cliff Dapper during the history of the Fallbrook/Bonsall Village News included one in 2002 after Fallbrook High School graduate Mike Port was named as the interim general manager of the Boston Red Sox.

That article, which appeared in the April 11, 2002, Village News, closed with a quote from Dapper.

"If the owners will go along with him, I think he'll bring them a championship club before very long," Dapper said at the time.

After the 2002 season Port returned to his previous position as the Red Sox's vice president of baseball operations. He was in that position in 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918.