Lennie Merullo Obituary in the New York Times

The longest surviving member of the last Chicago Cubs team to play in the World Series passed away last weekend. Lennie Merullo, 98, was a distinguished Villanova alum who played three years of college baseball and then went on to enjoy a successful professional career as a player and a scout. Merullo played for the Wildcats from 1936-38 before beginning his pro career. He was the starting shortstop for the Cubs team which won the 1945 National League pennant. Merullo resided in Reading, Mass.

During his collegiate career, Merullo played for the Villanova freshman team in 1936 and the varsity team in 1937 and 1938. He was part of a Wildcats varsity squad that went 18-8 over two seasons, including an eight-game winning streak during the 1937 season and a 10-3 record the year later. In 1937, Villanova had another future major leaguer, Mickey Vernon, playing for its freshman team.

Merullo played professionally from 1939-48 and appeared in exactly 1,000 regular season games between the major leagues and the minor leagues. He played in 639 major league games, all with the Cubs, from 1941-47. His best season came as a 25-year old in 1942, when he played in 143 games and batted .256 with 23 doubles, 53 runs scored, 37 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases. Merullo also played in 121 games and batted .239 with 18 doubles in 1945, when the Cubs reached the World Series but lost in seven games to the Detroit Tigers.

Following his retirement as a player, Merullo remained with the Cubs as a scout from 1950-72, notably signing future major league pitcher Moe Drabowski in 1956. Merullo joined the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau during its infancy in 1973 and spent 30 years working as a scout until he retired in 2003 at the age of 85. His grandson, Matt, played in the major leagues for six years and is currently a minor league manager in the Baltimore Orioles system.

Merullo was named to the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in recognition of leading the Barnstable Townies to the old Cape League title in 1935. He was awarded the Scout of the Year honor in 1990 and was presented with the prestigious Judge Emil Fuchs Award for long and meritorious service to baseball in 2006.