Fred Cambria

Although there are many hard-luck cases in the annals of baseball history, Fred Cambria’s story is one of the most memorable. A highly touted college and minor-league pitcher, Cambria made his major-league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates late in the 1970 season. Only 22 years old, he pitched effectively, going 1-2 with a 3.51 ERA. However, arm injuries prevented him from ever winning another game in the big leagues. Despite this setback, Cambria maintained a long association with baseball and looks back fondly on his time in the game.

Frederick Dennis Cambria was born on January 22, 1948, in Cambria Heights, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. (There is no connection between his last name and the name of the neighborhood.) He was the first of three children born to George Cambria, a lithographer, and Rita (Thomas) Cambria, a homemaker.1 Growing up, he attended Brooklyn Dodgers games with his father and uncle, an experience that nourished his interest in sports.2 When the Dodgers left for Los Angeles before the 1958 season, Cambria refused to switch his allegiance to the New York Yankees, leaving him temporarily without a team. He said, “I didn’t like [the Yankees] because they were always winning and I liked the underdog.” After the Mets arrived in 1962, he quickly fell in love with the expansion team.3

As a youth, Cambria played baseball in the Sacred Heart Parish, Cambria Heights, Catholic Youth Organization league. Starting out as a catcher, he pitched for the first time when he was 12 years old. He played both baseball and basketball at St. Pascal Baylon High School in Queens.4 Cambria did not take his studies seriously enough; as a result, his chances of going to college seemed remote. However, St. Leo College (now St. Leo University), a small Catholic institution near Tampa, Florida, admitted him in the fall of 1966 on the condition that he maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average.5 Intending to play basketball, he switched to baseball after making the team following an open tryout. Cambria fondly recalled the move: “I don’t think I had a career in basketball, so I went with baseball, and it’s the best decision I ever made.”6 

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander enjoyed an impressive freshman season for the Monarchs in 1967. He pitched back-to-back shutouts to begin his collegiate career – the second was a one-hitter against the University of Tampa.7 His talents central to the team’s success, Cambria was the winning pitcher in five of the Monarchs’ first seven victories.8 Although his pitching stood out, Cambria also enjoyed some noteworthy performances at the plate. On March 15, for instance, he had a single, triple, and four RBIs while pitching St. Leo to an 8-1 victory over Stetson University; one month later, he slammed two home runs while playing the field in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep of Florida Presbyterian College (now Eckerd College).9

Cambria continued to hone his skills during his sophomore and junior years. In particular, he improved his slider and learned to change speeds and pitch inside effectively.10 He also gained a reputation as a giant killer and began to attract attention from big-league teams. On March 27, 1968, in arguably the most impressive outing of his sophomore year, Cambria scattered three hits while striking out 13 and walking only two in an 8-0 shutout at home against Duke University.11  After the game, Duke coach Tom Butters commented, “I’m not happy. But I’m not upset. We ran into a mighty good pitcher Wednesday.”12 Indeed, Butters, who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1962 to 1965, was so impressed by Cambria that he recommended him to Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown.13 On March 9, 1969, 37 pro scouts saw Cambria, then a junior, strike out 14 on his way to a 3-2 complete-game upset victory over Florida State University.14 After the game, an unnamed San Francisco Giants scout asserted, “It looks like the kid has all of the potential to be a major league star.”15 

After his junior year, Cambria attended a tryout at Shea Stadium, hoping to be picked by his boyhood favorite team in the June 1969 draft.16 He was instead chosen by the Pirates in the third round (the 58th pick overall).17 Signed by scout Mark “Dutch” Deutsch, he was assigned to the York (Pennsylvania) Pirates of the Double-A Eastern League, Cambria made his professional debut against the Waterbury Indians at home on June 14, 1969. He pitched well, giving up only two hits and two unearned runs but came away with a no-decision in the Pirates’ 14-inning, 4-3 victory.18 His first win came against the Reading Phillies on June 25.19 Thereafter, Cambria established himself as one of York’s premier pitchers. He finished the season with a 9-2 record and a 2.16 ERA. His wins included a seven-inning perfect game against Waterbury in the first half of a twin bill on July 15.20 In the stands that day was former Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh, who had come to watch his son, Tim, catch for York. Cambria believed that pitching the gem in front of Murtaugh quickened his path to the majors: “That’s what gave me some … leverage in the organization. My name was used and [the Pirates] said, ‘Maybe he can do something.’”21

In the fall of 1969, like other elite prospects, Cambria pitched for the Florida Instructional League Pirates, compiling a 2-1 record with a 3.82 ERA. In 1970 he attended spring training with the Pirates as a nonroster invitee. Murtaugh, who was back managing the Pirates after a stint in the front office, was impressed by Cambria’s talents – he said the 22-year-old was “really going to be some pitcher” – but cautioned that Cambria might be sent to the minors for further seasoning.22 Cambria received notice on March 30 that he was being farmed to the Columbus Jets of the Triple-A International League.23 

The proximity of the Florida Instructional League and spring training to St. Leo College allowed Cambria to finish his degree. Upon signing with the Pirates, he had promised his parents that he would graduate.24 He was also determined to prove that his subpar high-school grades had been an aberration. He graduated from St. Leo in the spring of 1970 with a degree in political science, earning dean’s list honors in four of his eight semesters.25

Cambria took the mound for Columbus on April 17 as the Opening Day starter against the Rochester Red Wings but gave up six unearned runs in six innings in a losing effort.26 He dropped two more decisions before he beat the Buffalo Bisons on May 3 for his first win.27  Hitting his stride, Cambria won nine of his next 13 decisions to take his record to 12-7.

While Cambria was enjoying success with the Jets, the Pirates were locked in a tight race in the National League East Division. They moved into first place by one game over the Mets on August 2, but reaching that point had not been easy. Several Pirates had missed playing time because of injury, with the pitching staff suffering the most setbacks. Lamenting the Pirates’ predicament, Joe L. Brown commented, “We’ve had more pitching injuries than any club I have ever been connected with, and a lot of our regulars have been hurt, too.”28 The Pirates’ pitching woes worsened in mid-August when the club pulled Dock Ellis from the rotation for two starts to rest his ailing elbow.29 Moreover, reliever Orlando Peña had been hit hard in several consecutive outings. Against this backdrop, the Pirates put Peña or waivers and purchased Cambria’s contract from Columbus on August 19.30

Cambria made his big-league debut on August 26, 1970, in a start against the Padres in San Diego. He learned he was starting only an hour and a half before game time after scheduled starter Bob Veale complained of shoulder pain. Despite the late notice, the young rookie pitched well, holding the Padres scoreless for six innings. San Diego took a 2-1 lead in the seventh, however, when third baseman Ed Spiezio homered with no outs to drive in center fielder Ivan Murrell, who had reached on an error. Cambria got the next batter to fly out to center, but Danny Murtaugh removed him after he walked pitcher Pat Dobson. Neither team scored the rest of the way, giving the Padres the win. Although he was the losing pitcher, Cambria’s solid performance earned him the starting nod against the Giants in San Francisco on August 30.31 

Cambria pitched well against the Giants but came away with a no-decision in the Pirates’ 2-1 loss. His third appearance came on September 5. Starting against the Philadelphia Phillies at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Cambria and the Pirates trailed 1-0 entering the third. The Pirates put two runs on the board in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The Phillies knotted the score in the top of fourth, only to see the Pirates come back and score another run in their half of the inning. In the next frame, the Pirates seemingly broke the game open when they scored three times on four hits to take a 6-2 lead. However, Cambria and the Pirates struggled to put the game away. After surrendering a run in the sixth, Cambria pitched a scoreless seventh. He then ran into trouble in the eighth, jeopardizing what could become his first career win. He allowed a single to start the inning. He got the next batter out, but second baseman Denny Doyle followed with a single to center to drive in a run. With the score now 6-4, Murtaugh took Cambria out of the game. Reliever George Brunet promptly gave up a double, forcing Murtaugh to go back to the bullpen. Dave Giusti held the Phillies scoreless the rest of the way to preserve the Pirates’ 6-4 win and, with it, Cambria’s first major-league victory.

Cambria struggled in his next start. Lasting only 5⅓ innings, he gave up five earned runs on six walks and eight hits in the Pirates’ 6-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at home on September 9. His last start of the year came against the New York Mets, his old favorite team, at Shea Stadium on September 20. With his family looking on, he outpitched future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.32 The Pirates scored five runs off Seaver in 5⅓ innings, while Cambria held the Mets to three runs, two of them earned, in the same number of innings. However, the Mets tied the game in the seventh, denying Cambria his second win. The Pirates went on to prevail 9-5 in 10 innings. 

Cambria pitched one final time that season, recording two scoreless innings in relief against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on October 1. The Pirates won the game, the last of the regular season, good for an 89-73 record and first place in the National League East Division, five games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs. Cambria did not appear for the Pirates in the National League Championship Series, which the Cincinnati Reds swept in three games. Cambria finished the season with a 1-2 record and a 3.51 ERA in 33⅓ innings pitched.

Cambria seemed to have a promising future. After the 1970 season, he pitched for the San Juan Senators, a team managed by Pirates great Roberto Clemente in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He then joined the Pirates for spring training in 1971. He pitched effectively but was optioned to the Charleston (West Virginia) Charlies, the Pirates’ new Triple-A affiliate, at the end of spri ng training.33 Cambria struggled to find his stride with his new team, and he began experiencing pain in his pitching shoulder. He went 0-3 in seven starts before he was shut down for the season to rest his arm.34 The time off did little to improve his shoulder, however. He experimented with different deliveries to ease the pain, but he pitched only marginally better the following season with the Charlies, going 2-0 with a 5.54 ERA in 17 relief appearances.35

Cambria’s arm troubles were most likely due to an accumulation of factors. He recalled straining his arm during his standout win in college against Florida State University. Determined to defeat a team that expected “to beat up on us,” Cambria had relied excessively on his slider in that start.36 His time in winter ball was also probably a culprit. Looking back on his time there, he observed, “I hate to say it, but all that extra pitching [in Puerto Rico] might have had a bearing on my arm trouble.”37 Finally, his arm was never the same after he pitched in cold weather in his first start with the Charleston Charlies in 1971.38

In 1973, Cambria joined the Pirates again for spring training. His arm still ailing him, he failed to make the club once more. He began the year in Charleston but did not make an appearance and was released in June. Trying to prolong his career, Cambria called the Mets and Yankees, hoping they might be interested in him. The Yankees took a chance, signing him to a minor-league contract with West Haven of the Double-A Eastern League.39 Cambria pitched only seven games for West Haven, all in relief, going 0-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 17 innings. He never pitched another game.

Following his pitching days, Cambria worked in sales for Izod for over a dozen years, but he never ventured far from baseball.40 In the late 1980s, he worked as a marketing specialist for the Class-A Columbia (South Carolina) Mets, and in 1990, he returned to his alma mater, St. Leo College, as head baseball coach.41 (The college renamed itself St. Leo University in 1999.42) In his two years at the helm, Cambria took the Knights (now known as the Lions) to a 55-46 record.43 He later served as pitching coach for the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League for two years. He also coached for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League and was commissioner of both the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League.44 His number, 22, was retired by St. Leo University in 2018, and he is a member of both the St. Leo University Athletics Hall of Fame and the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.45

Although his arm injury limited him to one win in the majors, Cambria considers himself fortunate. “I have no regrets. Baseball was great to me,” he commented in a 2011 interview, “and I still love it today.”46  He is also fiercely loyal to St. Leo University and takes pride that he not only developed his baseball skills at the college but also applied himself and earned a degree after having struggled academically in high school.47 

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Fred Cambria for speaking to him about his life and career as well as Bill Nowlin of SABR and Joe Billetdeaux of the Pittsburgh Pirates for helping arrange the interview with Cambria.

Photo credit: Fred Cambria, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Sources

In addition to the sources found in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Fred Cambria, telephone interview, April 6, 2023. In addition, Fred Cambria’s father and his two younger siblings are mentioned in Murray Chass, “A Former Mets Fans Returns as a Foe,” New York Times, September 20, 1970: 200. His mother’s obituary can be found at https://nolanfh.com/tribute/details/1075/Rita-Cambria/obituary.html (accessed February 2023).

2  “Baseball Still the Life for Former MLB Pitcher,” Brooklyn Tablet, August 11, 2011, https://thetablet.org/baseball-still-the-life-for-former-mlb-pitcher/.

3 Chass, “A Former Mets Fan Returns as a Foe.”

4 “Baseball Still the Life for Former MLB Pitcher.”

5 Cambria, telephone interview.

6 Kevin Weiss, “Saint Leo Baseball to Retire Jersey of Its First MLB Draftee,” Laker/Lutz News (Land o’ Lakes, Florida), April 11, 2018, https://lakerlutznews.com/lln/2018/04/56028/.

7 “Cambria Pitches Second Shutout for St. Leo,” Tampa Bay Times, March 5, 1967: 17.

8 “Cambria Leads St. Leo 2-0,” Tampa Bay Times, April 8, 1967: 31.

9 “Cambria, St. Leo Whip Stetson 8-1,” Tampa Bay Times, March 16, 1967: 25; “Pitchers Hit, Monarchs Rout Tritons Twice,” Tampa Bay Times, April 16, 1967: 22. Newspaper accounts of St. Leo College’s doubleheader sweep of Florida Presbyterian College on April 15, 1967, do not specify what position Cambria played in the night cap. He pitched in the first game.

10 Weiss, “St. Leo Baseball to Retire Jersey of Its First MLB Draftee.”

11 “Monarchs Halt Blue Devils,” Tampa Bay Times, March 28, 1968: 29.

12 Dick Brusie, “Blue Devils Lose; Tim Teer Stars,” Durham (North Carolina) Sun, March 28, 1968: 26.

13 “Baseball Still the Life for Former MLB Pitcher.”

14 “St. Leo Stuns FSU 3-2,” Tallahassee Democrat, March 10, 1969: 10.

15 “A King-Size Step for Monarchs,” Tampa Bay Times, April 18, 1969: 36.

16 “Baseball Still the Life for Former MLB Pitcher.”

17 U.S., Baseball Questionnaire, 1945-2005 for Frederick Dennis Cambria, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/74189:61599 (accessed April 2023).

18 “York Pirates Open 8-Game Road Trip at Elmira Tonight,” York (Pennsylvania) Dispatch, June 16, 1969: 21.

19 “York Pirates Top Phils, Hike EL Lead,” York Dispatch, June 26, 1969: 25.

20 “Pirates’ Rookie Hurls Perfect Game in Double Win,” York Dispatch, July 16, 1969: 36.

21 Fred Cambria, interview with Danny Torres, Talking 21, podcast audio, https://talkin-21-podcast.castos.com/episodes/s2-ep-11-fred-cambria.

22 “Major League Prospects for 1970,” York Dispatch, March 16, 1970: 28.

23 “Chris-Crossing,” Pittsburgh Press, March 31, 1970: 35.

24 Cambria, interview with Danny Torres.

25 John Agnello, “Major League Lesson,” Spirit Magazine, https://spirit.saintleo.edu/tag/fred-cambria/ (accessed February 2023); “St. Leo Jersey of Former Pittsburgh Pirate Fred Cambria ’70 Retired,” Community: News for the St. Leo University Community, https://community.saintleo.edu/2018/04/saint-leo-jersey-of-former-pittsburgh-pirate-fred-cambria-70-retired/ (accessed April 2023).

26 Craig Stolze, “Wings Whip Jets in Opener,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, April 18, 1970: 33.

27 “1st Complete Game for Jets,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, May 4, 1970: 39.

28 Bill Christine, “GM Brown Goes to Bat for Danny as Top Pilot,” Pittsburgh Press, August 28, 1970: 29.

29 “Pirates Welcome Blass Back, Lose Dock Ellis,” Tyrone (Pennsylvania) Daily Herald, August 15, 1970: 8.

30 “Pirates Buy Fred Cambria, Release Pena,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 20, 1970: 30; Cambria, telephone interview.

31 “Cambria Sparkles in 2-1 Loss: San Diego Stalls Pirates Again,” Pittsburgh Press, August 27, 1970: 45.

32 Chass, “A Former Mets Fan Returns as a Foe.”

33 “Banks to Miss Cubs’ Opener, Expos Give Up on Phillies,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2, 1971: 25.

34 “Deleted, Tired Caps,” Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, July 7, 1971: 19.

35 “Underhanded Experiment,” Charleston Daily Mail, May 17, 1972: 18.

36 Cambria, telephone interview.

37 Bill Christine, “Playing Games – Back to the Bushes,” Pittsburgh Post Gazette, August 15, 1973: 27.

38 Cambria, telephone interview

39 Christine, “Playing Games.”

40 Eric Pate, “Seeking Stability, Monarchs Open ’90, Tampa Bay Times, February 3, 1990: 80.

41 Steve Persall, “St. Leo Hires Coach, Third in Three Years,” Tampa Bay Times, July 12, 1989: 67.

42 “Highlights in History: The Many Names of St. Leo,” https://www.saintleo.edu/about/stories/blog/highlights-in-history-the-many-names-of-saint-leo (accessed April 2023).

43 “Baseball Records,” https://saintleolions.com/sports/2017/8/1/baseball-records.aspx (accessed February 2023).

44 “Cambria Named HCBL Commissioner,” https://pointstreak.com/news_story.html?id=72187 (accessed February 2023).

45 Weiss, “Saint Leo Baseball to Retire Jersey of Its First MLB Draftee”; Cambria, Fred,” https://www.suffolksportshof.com/fred-cambria/ (accessed April 2023).

46 “Baseball Still the Life for Former MLB Pitcher.”

47 Cambria, telephone interview; Agnello, “Major League Lessons.”