Rudy Minarcin
Rudy A. Minarcin
Rudy A. Minarcin
Born- March 25, 1930
Born- March 25, 1930
Died- October 15, 2013
Died- October 15, 2013
Ruby Minarcin was born in North Vandergrift, Pennsylvania and was the captain of both the baseball and football team at the Vandergrift high school. During his junior and senior years he was apart of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championship team in 1948, and was the quarterback of the Vandergrift football team. Even with 30 football scholarships offered to him he refused them instead choosing to stick with baseball. Minarcin would sign with the Vandergrift Pioneers a minor league and would spend four in the minors from 1948 to 1951 before being drafted into the Korean War. Rudy would enter the army in 1952 and was stationed at Camp Eustis in Virginia. Rudy was trained there for two year so he could be sent to Korea as a physical training instructor. He would not be sent to Korea though. On his last day of training while playing touch football he injured his right knee and the anterior cruciate ligament. This injury would prevent from leaving as a result Rudy would be given a honorable discharge in 1954. In 1955 Rudy would finally get his chance in the major leagues as a member of the Cincinnati Redlegs. One of his career highlights would come on June 4, 1955, where he hurled a complete game, one-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes field. Rudy would go on to pitch for the Boston Red Sox from 1956 to 1957. Rudy as played with the triple A Haven Sugar Kings in 1956, and two final seasons of organized play with the Maple Leafs from 1957 to 1958. After his major league baseball career Rudy ran his fathers grocery store in Vandergrift till he retired in 1995. He would go on to marry Sonja Urbanski in 1957, they would end up having three girls and a boy. His wife would pass away in 1988, but Rudy continued being a great sports fan and couched softball teams in his spare time. Rudy would later die at the age of 83 on October 15, 2013, at the Good Samaritan Hospice in Cabot, Pennsylvania.
Ruby Minarcin was born in North Vandergrift, Pennsylvania and was the captain of both the baseball and football team at the Vandergrift high school. During his junior and senior years he was apart of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championship team in 1948, and was the quarterback of the Vandergrift football team. Even with 30 football scholarships offered to him he refused them instead choosing to stick with baseball. Minarcin would sign with the Vandergrift Pioneers a minor league and would spend four in the minors from 1948 to 1951 before being drafted into the Korean War. Rudy would enter the army in 1952 and was stationed at Camp Eustis in Virginia. Rudy was trained there for two year so he could be sent to Korea as a physical training instructor. He would not be sent to Korea though. On his last day of training while playing touch football he injured his right knee and the anterior cruciate ligament. This injury would prevent from leaving as a result Rudy would be given a honorable discharge in 1954. In 1955 Rudy would finally get his chance in the major leagues as a member of the Cincinnati Redlegs. One of his career highlights would come on June 4, 1955, where he hurled a complete game, one-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes field. Rudy would go on to pitch for the Boston Red Sox from 1956 to 1957. Rudy as played with the triple A Haven Sugar Kings in 1956, and two final seasons of organized play with the Maple Leafs from 1957 to 1958. After his major league baseball career Rudy ran his fathers grocery store in Vandergrift till he retired in 1995. He would go on to marry Sonja Urbanski in 1957, they would end up having three girls and a boy. His wife would pass away in 1988, but Rudy continued being a great sports fan and couched softball teams in his spare time. Rudy would later die at the age of 83 on October 15, 2013, at the Good Samaritan Hospice in Cabot, Pennsylvania.
Vandergrift, March 28, 2023 – Friends and family joined local officials and community leaders in North Vandergrift today to dedicate the Vandergrift Bridge to a hometown hero....Rudy Minarcin.
