Ex-Yankee born in Bellingham dies
Dec, 16, 2007
CRAIG PARRISH
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Clarence Westly “Cuddles” Marshall, who is one of only three players in Major League Baseball history who was born in Bellingham, died Friday at his California home. He was 82.

Marshall, who attended Western Washington University and lived his final years in Saugus, Calif., was a righthanded pitcher with the New York Yankees in 1946 and from 1948 to ’49. He also played for the St. Louis Browns in 1950.

Marshall was the first Bellingham- born player in the major leagues, according to baseballreference. com. He was later followed by Bellingham natives Roger Repoz, who played outfielder for the Yankees, Kansas City Athletics and California Angels in the ’60s and early ’70s, and Ty Taubenheim, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2005 and ’06 and was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this month.

Marshall had a 7-7 career record with a 5.98 ERA in 73 appearances including 15 saves. He earned a World Series championship ring in 1949 when the Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, though baseball-reference.com did not list him with any career postseason appearances.

That ring was later stolen by workers in his home, and 20 years later, one of his two daughters had it recast.

Marshall’s brother Ernie, 78, of Bellingham, said he and his wife Beryl have numerous mementos of Clarence’s time with the Yankees. He was Joe Di Maggio’s roommate on the road, and it was the Yankee Clipper who came up with the nickname “Cuddles,” Ernie Marshall said.

One prized newspaper clipping is from the New York Daily News, describing how Clarence Marshall pitched in the first night game in Yankee Stadium on May 28, 1946. He was 21 years old.

The paper used phrases like “Yankees by lamplight” and “night baseball is still somewhat a novelty in New York,” according to Beryl Marshall.

“He lived the dream, and his dream was fulfilled,” Ernie Marshall said. “His dream was to pitch for the Seattle Rainiers, and then move up to the Yankees. He did both.”

Ernie Marshall also said that Clarence Marshall bore more than a passing resemblance to Tyrone Power, one of Hollywood’s biggest actors of the time who achieved his biggest fame after the 1940 release of “The Mark of Zorro.” One newspaper featured the two men placed side-by-side to show the resemblance.

Marshall was preceded in death by his wife Margaret. He is survived by two daughters and one grandchild.