MLB Player from the STL Week #3 Who you calling a creep?

Our player of the week is Frank Angelo Joseph Crespi AKA “Creepy”. Creepy was born in St. Louis on February 16, 1918 and died on March 1, 1990. Creepy played with the Cardinals as an infielder from 1938-1942. He made his debut at second on September 14, 1938. Wiki tells us that Marty “Rabbit” Marion called Creepy the best defensive second baseman he ever played with.

Creepy was entitled to a deferment from the draft during WWII. However, he refused this and this decision would change the rest of his life. He had a compound fracture as a result of playing ball on the base he was stationed. He broke this same leg two more times, once as a result of a wheelchair race. Perhaps his nickname should have been “Unlucky”. This last trip to the infirmary resulted in a nurse applying 100 times (!) the appropriate amount of boric acid which severely burned his leg and left him with a permanent limp, thus ending any chances he would play ball again. Not able to play ball again and unable to gain employment in MLB  Creepy ended up working at the then STL based McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) for 20 years.

Creepy’s career statistics were as follows; 162 games played, 1035 plate appearances, 911 at bats, 125 runs scored, 240 hits, 8 stolen bases, 90 walks, 102 strike outs, .657 OPS, and a batting average of .263. Creepy had a career fielding percentage of .958. Creepy had a few cards during his playing days. Below are his 1941 #145 Double Play which he shares with another Cardinal and his 1942 Double Play card (#22).