The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a significant number of notable players don their franchise’s jerseys going back to when the organization was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883.
Those players have made all kinds of unique baseball history in that span. And now the Dodgers have received news that one former player with a particularly interesting claim to organizational history has died.
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Former Dodgers catcher Doug Camilli, who played with the team from 1960 to 1964, died at age 89 in his home in Florida, according to a local obituary.
Camilli was a World Series champion with the Dodgers in 1963 and he was also the son of former Dodgers Most Valuable Player Award winner Dolph Camilli, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1938 to 1943.
Doug Camilli signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 after attending Stanford University. He made his big-league debut in 1960 and posted a .204/.267/.335 slash line in 163 total games with the Dodgers. In addition to earning a championship with the team, Camilli was a key part in a historic game in 1964.
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“Camilli was the Dodgers’ catcher on June 4, 1964 in Philadelphia when Sandy Koufax threw the third no-hitter of his career,” Jon Paul Hoornstra wrote for Newsweek. “Koufax allowed only one walk in the game. He attributed that mistake in part to shaking off Camilli on the pitch that was called ball four to the (Philadelphia) Phillies’ Dick Allen.”
Late Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Champion Was Son Of A Former Dodgers MVP
Camilli was born in Philadelphia, where his father played four of his professional seasons with the Phillies. Dolph Camilli earned the 1941 National League MVP Award thanks to a dominant season at the plate which saw him slug 34 homers and record 120 RBI.
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“Doug, who passed away on March 17, 2026 at the age of 89, lived a baseball life that felt both inherited and earned,” Mark Rosenman wrote. “The son of Dolph Camilli, he grew up around the game at a time when clubhouse air probably smelled like pine tar, cigars, coffee, and opportunity. Born in Philadelphia while his father was playing there, Doug didn’t just follow in his dad’s footsteps he carved out his own lane, spikes and all.”
Doug Camilli Joined Boston Red Sox For Decades-Long Career After Los Angeles Dodgers Stint
Doug Camilli went on to enjoy a long career as a coach and manager after his playing days ended. He was a bullpen coach for the Washington Senators and was briefly reactivated in the 1969 campaign. He then went on to serve as a bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox, then a manager and catching instructor in the Red Sox’s farm system for decades.