Earle Brucker Jr.

Earle Francis Brucker Jr. (August 25, 1925 – March 28, 2009) was a professional baseball player. He played two games as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948. After playing several seasons in minor league baseball, including a brief stint in the Pacific Coast League in 1953, he retired from baseball in 1955. He spent most of his life as the owner and operator of the Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, California.[1]

Earle Brucker Jr.
Catcher
Born: (1925-08-29)August 29, 1925
Los Angeles
Died: March 25, 2009(2009-03-25) (aged 83)
El Cajon, California
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 2, 1948, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1948, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.167
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Brucker was the son of Earle Brucker Sr., who played five seasons in the major leagues for the Athletics himself.[2] When Earle Sr. joined the Athletics coaching staff in 1941, Earle Jr. was made the bullpen catcher at the age of 15.[3]

Earle Sr. had gotten a 50-year lease a property near Gillespie Airport, which he attempted to lease to the Detroit Tigers as a spring training facility. When they declined, he turned the property into a racetrack, fairgrounds and high school football stadium.[1] He turned the property over to Earle Jr. in 1958. One of his sons, Steve Brucker, took over the track but was murdered in 2003.[4][5] With the death of Brucker and the speedway lease ending in 2005, the track shut down after the 2004 racing season.[6]

Brucker died at his home in El Cajon on March 28, 2009.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Earle Brucker Jr., 83, longtime operator of Cajon Speedway". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  2. Earle Brucker Sr. page at Baseball Reference
  3. Rose, George (2004). One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories. United States: Excel/Kaleidoscope. p. 212. ISBN 9780595318070.
  4. "Cajon Speedway Owner Murdered". 10 news. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  5. "Lawyers Face Off In Cajon Speedway Murder Trial". 10 news. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. Gorman, Anna (July 14, 2003). "Speedway Races Against Odds to Stay Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 August 2017.


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