November 30, 2005 – Anthony Thomas “Nino” Bongiovanni’s major-league career was brief. Following a two-game cup of espresso early in the 1938 season, he appeared in 66 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1939. The left-handed outfielder also spent 14 years in the minors between 1933 and 1949, losing three years to military service in World War II. In his first ten minor-league seasons, he played in the Pacific Coast and International Leagues, both of which were classified Double A, at that time the highest level in the minors. In 1935, his third year in pro ball, he hit .338 for the Portland Beavers in the PCL and was third in the league in hits, one spot behind 20-year-old Joe DiMaggio.

After returning from service in the Army Air Corps, he played for three years in the Class C California League and one year in the Class D Far West League. In his final two seasons, he was a player-manager for Oroville in the Far West League (1948) and Stockton in the California League (1949).

While Bongiovanni’s major-league career was short-lived, his life on earth spanned 97 years. When we spoke he was three weeks shy of his 94th birthday. Nevertheless, he had no trouble calling up memories of his days as a ballplayer. Seventy years after the fact, he was still miffed at the scorekeeper who, he said, robbed him of extending his 43-game hitting streak in 1935 to 56 games. At the end of our discussion, he gladly offered to share the secret of his longevity, after which he laughed heartily.