Emilio 'Murph' Malattia of the Topeka Owls minor league baseball team is pictured in this snapshot from 1947. Malattia's minor league career spanned eight seasons between 1937 and 1949, but was interrupted during World War II because of his service in the military. Following the war, he resumed his career in 1946 with the Class D Chanute Owls, an affiliate of the Topeka Owls. He was promoted to the Class C Topeka Owls in 1947, and played again for Topeka in 1949. Malattia was known for his defensive skills as a first baseman, but he also was adept at the plate, hitting .290 in 829 minor league games. Malattia, a native of Illinois, returned to the Chicago area after his professional baseball career, and for many years ran a tavern in Cicero that was first opened by his father. In 1979, Murph Malattia was murdered by intruders who burglarized the tavern. Digital reproduction of the photograph was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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