| EUGENE CAMOZZI Aug 14,1897 Mar 30, 1962 |
| Gene Camozzi, played semipro baseball with many Coast Leaguers. He was born in the North Beach District of San Francisco in 1897. As a youth, he grew up in the wake of the 1906 Eartquake. In 1910 he was mascot of his grammer school, Hancock Elementary ,baseball team. He'd been a team mascot before, while helping his elder brother, Emile's, North Beach Midgets in 1907. At age 17, Gene would become a fine ball player in his own right. By 1916 he began to gain experience within the ranks of the local semi-pro circuit. The Crystal Club of San Francisco would be his first lessson at a highter level of the game. Later that season, Gene found himself a member of theSt. Dominics team that would capture San Francisco's semi-pro title. In 1917 he was on the team of the Sperry Redwood's of Redwood City. He did play a bit in the minor's. In the Spring of 1917 the Spokane Indians invited Gene to their training camp (Class B, Of the Pacific Coast International League). This southpaw's most notable game was against the Chicago Cubs. He returned to the Sperry Redwood for the rest of the season. 1918 he pitched for Aberdeen of the Pacific Coast International League. He was a member of their Black Cats. In 1919 he was a success in the San Francisco Mid-Winter league. After the Championship for the S.F. Mid-Winter League, the Bush Area Leaguers decided there should be a World Series. They arranged a 3 out of 5 contest between the Granat Brothers team and an All Star Team from the East Bay. Score was 3-0 for Oakland. As the 1920 season approached he pitched for Terre Huate of the Three-I League. He had now married and his bride was in California. He had been offered a spot as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, but failure to reach an agreement in the contract, he returned to California and his Bride. Leaguers that at one time or another played with or against Gene are Pete Ricci and Tom Casey, two of his batterymates. Ricci was his first catcher on the playgrounds of San Francisco's North Beach. Casey caught for Gene in 1919 for Granat Brothers in the San Francisco midwinter league, and in 1920 for Terre Haute of the 3-I League. From 1923-1928, Casey and Camozzi became known throughout the bushes as "the hundred dollar battery." They played for the semipro San Mateo Blues. Justin Fitzgerald was Gene's manager on the Blues. He made his home in San Mateo, CA where he took a job with Pacific Gas and Electric. A Special Note of Thanks to Eugene Camozzi's grandson for the above information. He viewed all of his grandfather's photo albums and wrote this wonderful piece which he sent to me. |
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| Son of Pasquale Joseph Camozzi and Cecile Emily Gassman |
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| Alma & Gene Camozzi |