Merullo was a wartime shortstop who did his battling on the diamond. In 1946 he tangled with Eddie Stanky of the Dodgers during a game and the next day accepted a challenge from Dixie Walker before the game in a fight unusually serious by baseball standards. After his playing career he spent 25 years as the Cubs’ chief scout. He nicknamed his son Boots because the day the boy was born, Lennie made four errors.
