[Deathwatch] Sam Dente, athlete, 79

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Monday, April 22, 2002
Dente played for five major league teams
Associated Press

MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Sam Dente, who played shortstop for five teams in
nine major league seasons and was a member of Cleveland's 1954 American
League champions, has died.

M.G. Denton, a spokeswoman for Mountainside Hospital, said Dente died
there Sunday. He was 79.

Dente came to the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1947, then spent a
year with the St. Louis Browns. After three seasons with the Washington
Senators and two with the Chicago White Sox, he moved to the Indians in
1954 and was a part-time player on the team that won 111 games.

His major league career ended with the Indians in 1955. He had a career
batting average of .252.

Dente lived in West Caldwell, N.J., and is survived by his wife, Marie,
a daughter, Patricia Porcello; a sister and three grandsons.

A funeral is scheduled for Thursday at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic
Church in Caldwell, N.J.