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FatJack · 06-25-2017, 08:08 PM

Carmine "Zeke" Melignano was born and raised in a part of Manhattan that was then known as "Italian Harlem". He loved baseball, but his school didn't field a baseball team, so he would play pick-up games whenever he could. At 17, Carmine had an opportunity to try out for a professional team in the western part of the state, the Wellsville Yankees. His father agreed, so long as the youngster returned to finish his schooling. Zeke was 5-8 for Wellsville, but proved especially effective out of the bullpen. The team won the PONY league title that year and Zeke won the additional name of "Fireman", for his exemplary work of extinguishing the rallies of opposing teams.

After Zeke finished high school, he returned to the Yankees system, in which he pitched through 1951, finishing up his pro career in 1952 with an affiliate of the Red Sox.

Zeke earned plenty of national press as a Yankee prospect. He spent 2 years with Beaumont of the Texas League. In 1949, they were the Exporters. In 1950, they were the Roughnecks and their manager was Rogers Hornsby. The latter group captured the title that year with Zeke claiming honors as the league's top relief pitcher. He pitched in 54 games, going 14-6 and was one of 7 players the Roughnecks sent to the Texas League All-Star game (the others were Clint Courtney, Keith Thomas, Gil McDougald, Rex Jones, Ernie Nevel and Bob Marquis).

1951 brought Zeke one of the biggest thrills of his career. He was assigned to the Kansas City Blues that year. Mid-season, Mickey Mantle was demoted to KC, so the two got a chance to play together for a time. If you see a 1951 KC team photo (and they're around because a young Mickey is included), you'll see Zeke in the back row.

After leaving the professional game, Zeke worked for Mobile Gas and coached Little League and Pony League for years. He retired from Mobile in 1992 and became an avid and accomplished golfer. Zeke passed away on Thursday, June 22, 2017. He was 91.

Zeke's obituary is accompanied by plenty of pictures, several of which are from his baseball playing days. All have been grayscaled. The portrait shot is from his time with Beaumont (1949-50). Then we've got two images of Zeke with the Binghamton Triplets (I remember that "TC" on the cap, even in the 60s and 70s...I think it was for "Tri-Cities"); those are from 1945-46. From 1946, Zeke with the Augusta Tigers. And the last is a 17 year old Carmine Melignano with the Wellsville Yankees. The only KC image included was the team photo from 1951. I gotta type up the names for that.

06-25-2017, 08:08 PM	#1793
FatJack All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 847	Carmine "Zeke" Melignano (1926 - 2017) Carmine "Zeke" Melignano was born and raised in a part of Manhattan that was then known as "Italian Harlem". He loved baseball, but his school didn't field a baseball team, so he would play pick-up games whenever he could. At 17, Carmine had an opportunity to try out for a professional team in the western part of the state, the Wellsville Yankees. His father agreed, so long as the youngster returned to finish his schooling. Zeke was 5-8 for Wellsville, but proved especially effective out of the bullpen. The team won the PONY league title that year and Zeke won the additional name of "Fireman", for his exemplary work of extinguishing the rallies of opposing teams. After Zeke finished high school, he returned to the Yankees system, in which he pitched through 1951, finishing up his pro career in 1952 with an affiliate of the Red Sox. Zeke earned plenty of national press as a Yankee prospect. He spent 2 years with Beaumont of the Texas League. In 1949, they were the Exporters. In 1950, they were the Roughnecks and their manager was Rogers Hornsby. The latter group captured the title that year with Zeke claiming honors as the league's top relief pitcher. He pitched in 54 games, going 14-6 and was one of 7 players the Roughnecks sent to the Texas League All-Star game (the others were Clint Courtney, Keith Thomas, Gil McDougald, Rex Jones, Ernie Nevel and Bob Marquis). 1951 brought Zeke one of the biggest thrills of his career. He was assigned to the Kansas City Blues that year. Mid-season, Mickey Mantle was demoted to KC, so the two got a chance to play together for a time. If you see a 1951 KC team photo (and they're around because a young Mickey is included), you'll see Zeke in the back row. After leaving the professional game, Zeke worked for Mobile Gas and coached Little League and Pony League for years. He retired from Mobile in 1992 and became an avid and accomplished golfer. Zeke passed away on Thursday, June 22, 2017. He was 91. Zeke's obituary is accompanied by plenty of pictures, several of which are from his baseball playing days. All have been grayscaled. The portrait shot is from his time with Beaumont (1949-50). Then we've got two images of Zeke with the Binghamton Triplets (I remember that "TC" on the cap, even in the 60s and 70s...I think it was for "Tri-Cities"); those are from 1945-46. From 1946, Zeke with the Augusta Tigers. And the last is a 17 year old Carmine Melignano with the Wellsville Yankees. The only KC image included was the team photo from 1951. I gotta type up the names for that. Attached Images Last edited by FatJack; 06-25-2017 at 08:26 PM.