Anthony C. Raccuglia, 85, of La Salle, died May 18, 2019, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He was born Sept. 4, 1933, in La Salle and grew up in La Salle-Peru, attending local parochial schools. Raccuglia excelled in athletics, receiving state honors in football, basketball, and baseball. Following high school, he turned down a number of baseball scholarships to sign a professional baseball contract with the Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins). He played on the Washington Senators’ High Farm Team systems until he was drafted by the U.S. Army during the Korean War in 1953. While serving, he also played baseball for the Army baseball team.