Bruce dal Canton is among an increasingly rare class of major leaguer: he was signed in an open tryout.
Dal Canton already had his B.A. in science and education and was a teacher and coach at Burgettstown Junior/Senior High School when he took his knuckleball to a Pirates camp during the summer of 1966.He was signed by the Pirates in an open tryout that also netted them longtime major leaguer Woodie Fryman.
Barely a year later, he broke through to the majors in September of 1967 and netted two wins as a reliever before throwing a complete game against the defending NL champions Dodgers. He worked out of the bullpen much of the time, but once dealt to the Royals for the 1971 season, he was dropped into the rotation and had nine complete games in 1974 and threw a career-high 175 innings. He was traded to the Braves midway through the 1975 season and ended his pitching career with the 1977 White Sox.
But his second career soon began. He spent more than 25 years in the Braves system as a pitching coach, including a stint in Atlanta from 1987-90, when he was replaced by close friend Leo Mazzone. Before the 1992 postseason, he was brought in at age 50 to throw knuckleballs in batting practice in preparation for facing Tim Wakefield.
He was pitching coach in the Braves upper-Class A team in Myrtle Beach from 1999 until May of 2008, He died that September from esophageal cancer. The club retired his number and named the locker room in his honor.
