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chuck aleno, seattle rainiers

Player: Aleno, Chuck

Card: 1945 Centennial Flour/Seattle Rainiers Baseball Card #NA

Position: 3B/1B

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chuck aleno, photo from SABR.org
Image from SABR
Image from FindAGrave.com

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Charles "Chuck" Aleno (b. February 19, 1917 in St. Louis, Missouri – d. February 10, 2003 in DeLand, Florida) was a Major League Baseball third baseman who grew up in Rockland County, NY and attended Pearl River High School.

In 1937, the Cincinnati Reds signed Chuck and shipped him to the Class D Florida State League DeLand Reds. This was to be the start of a seventeen-year tour of ten different leagues and eighteen different ball clubs. After four seasons on the farm, Aleno got his chance with the major league Reds in 1941.

He started his career with 4 consecutive multi-hit games, setting the record for longest hitting streak to start a career (17 games) (tied by David Dahl in 2016). As manager McKechnie stuck Aleno at third base, batting him fifth; he hit safely in the next 13 games. Over 17 games from May 15 through May 31, the stocky line-drive hitter had 28 hits, all but four of them singles. He struck out six times and, making contact on most swings, took only three walks. As the Reds flipped the calendar from their May 31 home date against St. Louis to a doubleheader in New York on Sunday, June 1, Aleno was batting .389 for his small-sample career

Despite his hot start, he hit only .243 in 54 games that season. He played parts of the next four seasons with the Reds as an infielder, with only two games in the outfield. He appeared in 118 games, batting .209 (67-for-320). 1944 was his last chance in the majors and, the next season, 1945, he was with the AAA Pacific Coast League Seattle Rainiers.

Aleno was well-traveled from 1945 through 1953, playing (even pitching) and managing several minor league teams. From 1948 through 1951, he was a player-manager in the Class B Florida International League and pulled the same duty in the Class D Florida State League in 1952 and 1953.

Chuck's minor league record shows that he played in 1,764 games, batting .285 while slugging .404 (1,816-for 6,189) with 283 doubles, 49 triples and 158 home runs. Aleno's best season was probably with the 1949 Fort Lauderdale Braves where he hit .303, slugged .529 and belted 31 homers among his 155 hits.

Aleno's pitching record came during the last six seasons of his career, 6-8, 3.73 with 250 innings in 79 games. In the six seasons that Aleno served as manager, he had only one winning season, 1948 with the Lakeland Pilots of the Class C Florida International League, who finished third (82-72).

Chuck is a member of the Rockland County, NY Sports Hall of Fame. He is buried in Oakdale Cemetery, DeLand, Volusia County, Florida.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)

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This player has no additional cards on Baseball Amore.

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Chuck is part of the Cincinnati Reds Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


See all Chuck’s baseball cards at at TCDB


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