Baseball players from Texas

Eddie_Locke_(baseball)

Eddie Locke Jr. (January 13, 1923 – March 2, 1992) was an American Negro league outfielder between 1943 and 1950.
A native of Gatesville, Texas, Locke made his Negro leagues debut in 1943 with the Cincinnati Clowns and the Kansas City Monarchs. He went on to play several seasons with the Monarchs, and also played for the New York Black Yankees. Locke played minor league baseball in the 1950s, including stints with the Springfield Giants and Vancouver Capilanos, and three seasons with the Amarillo Gold Sox. He died in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1992 at age 69.

Buzz_Dozier

William Joseph Dozier III (August 31, 1928 – November 24, 2005), known as "Buzz", was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in four Major League Baseball games for the 1947 and 1949 Washington Senators. A native and lifelong resident of Waco, Texas, he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Dozier starred in football and baseball at Waco High School and turned down a joint scholarship in those sports from Texas Christian University to sign a professional baseball contract with Washington in August 1947. He jumped immediately to the American League the following month and made his MLB debut on September 12 at Griffith Stadium against the St. Louis Browns. Coming into the contest in the eighth inning with Washington trailing 9–3, Dozier proceeded to strike out the first man to bat against him, veteran infielder and future soap opera star Johnny Berardino. In two scoreless frames, he faced the minimum of six opposing batters and allowed only one hit, a single to Les Moss, who was erased on a caught stealing. Two days later, he threw two more shutout innings of relief, this time against the Detroit Tigers, permitting only one hit and one base on balls.However, two years later, Dozier was ineffective in his third major-league game, a one-sided loss to the eventual 1949 World Series champion New York Yankees on September 11. He entered the game at Yankee Stadium with two out in the fourth and the Bombers already ahead, 11–0. Dozier threw the final 51⁄3 innings, allowing an inherited runner to score, then eight earned runs of his own, as New York triumphed, 20–5. In his final big-league appearance nine days later, he threw one scoreless inning on September 20, 1949 against St. Louis in another lopsided Senator defeat.
All told, in his four MLB games, all in relief, Dozier allowed 14 hits and seven bases on balls in 11 innings pitched. he struck out three. All eight earned runs charged against him came in his "mop up" performance against the Yankees on September 11, 1949. He did not gain a decision and compiled a career earned run average of 6.55. Doozer pitched in the minor leagues through 1951 before leaving pro baseball.
He attended Baylor University in his hometown, where he raised his family and became a longtime Waco businessman, spending 37 years as a manufacturer's representative in the apparel industry. He died, aged 77, on November 24, 1955.

Rocky_Bridges

Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 28, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League.

Ray_Katt

Raymond Frederick Katt (May 9, 1927 – October 19, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball during the 1950s, and later became the longtime and highly successful head baseball coach of Texas Lutheran University. A lifelong resident of New Braunfels, Texas, Katt stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (183 cm) tall, weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed in his playing days. He attended Texas A&M University.

Tommy_Herrera

Tomás Herrera Jr. (June 9, 1933 in Laredo, Texas – September 19, 1997 in Houston, Texas) had a long career as a professional baseball player and manager, beginning his professional career in 1953.
Herrera played in the minor leagues for at least six seasons, never reaching the major leagues - though he did spend parts of four seasons at the Open designation, which was created to help build the Pacific Coast League into a major league, and in the Mexican League, the highest-level professional league in Mexico. A pitcher, Herrera won as many as 10 games in a season, per the records available.
From 1963 to 1969, Herrera managed the Mexico City Reds, leading them to first place finishes and de facto league championships in 1964 and 1968. He managed the Seraperos de Saltillo from 1970 to 1972, the Pericos de Puebla in 1973 and the Mineros de Coahuila in 1974 and 1975.

Rac_Slider

Rachel Wayne "Rac" Slider (born December 23, 1933) is an American former infielder and manager in American minor league baseball who also spent four seasons (1987–1990) as a Major League Baseball coach with the Boston Red Sox. In his playing days, Slider stood 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, weighed 160 pounds (73 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Slider graduated from James Bowie High School in Simms in 1951, and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1954. During an 11-year playing career (1954–1956; 1958–1964; 1966) he never reached the Major League level, although he spent four seasons in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In his finest year in the PCL, with the 1961 Hawaii Islanders, Slider batted .300 with 154 hits, 75 runs scored, and a career-high seven home runs. In 1962, the Kansas City Athletics sold Slider's contract to the Red Sox, and he spent the remainder of his career in the Boston organization.
He managed Bosox farm clubs for 21 consecutive seasons, from 1965 through 1985, beginning with the Harlan Red Sox and Covington Red Sox in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. His next assignment, in 1967–1968 as skipper of the Class A Waterloo Hawks, saw the professional debut of eventual Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. Slider spent nine seasons at the helm of the Red Sox' Winter Haven affiliate in the Class A Florida State League. He won pennants in 1970 (in the Class A Western Carolinas League) and 1979 (in the Florida State League). In 1983, his New Britain Red Sox won the Double-A Eastern League playoffs behind first-year pitcher Roger Clemens.
In all, Slider spent three seasons in Double-A and reached the highest minor league level as the pilot of the 1985 Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. Overall, his managerial record was 1,275–1,405 (.476) in 2,680 games.
Slider was promoted to the MLB Red Sox' coaching staff after the 1986 season. He served under John McNamara as Boston's bullpen coach, and under Joe Morgan as the Red Sox' third-base coach, from 1987 to 1990. He was a minor league infield instructor with the Red Sox in 1986 and from 1991 to 1994.

Mack_Burk

Mack Edwin Burk (born April 21, 1935) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1956 and 1958 Philadelphia Phillies. Of his 16 big league game appearances, 13 were as a pinch runner, two as a pinch hitter, and only one inning as a catcher.
Burk stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, weighed 180 pounds (82 kg) and threw and batted right-handed. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and signed a $40,000 bonus contract with the Phillies in September 1955. Under the rules of the day, a "bonus baby" such as Burk was compelled to spend his first two years as a professional baseball player on a Major League roster. In his pro debut, on May 25, 1956, Burk pinch-ran for catcher Andy Seminick, in a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Connie Mack Stadium. In Burk’s third game, on June 5, he pinch hit for pitcher Curt Simmons in the fifth inning and singled off left-hander Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Redlegs. Burk came around to score his first big-league run that inning on a sacrifice fly by Stan Lopata. Burk scored two more runs during the 1956 season, both as a pinch runner. In his lone appearance in the field, Burk caught one inning, the bottom of the eighth, in relief of Lopata on July 15 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and handled one chance flawlessly.Burk missed the entire 1957 season due to military service. But in 1958, he returned to baseball and was able to gain much-needed playing time in minor league baseball. Burk also played in one game with the Phillies. In his second big-league plate appearance and at bat, Burk was called upon to pinch hit for Phils' pitcher Ray Semproch in the 14th inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants, and he was called out on strikes against veteran Johnny Antonelli. It would be Burk's final MLB appearance. All told, he collected three runs scored, and one single in his two at bats for a career batting average of .500.
Burk continued his career in the minors through 1960 in the Phillies' farm system before leaving pro baseball.

Stan_Hollmig

Stanley Ernest Hollmig (January 2, 1926 – December 4, 1981) was an American professional baseball player and scout. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, he was an outfielder who played in 94 games over all or parts of three seasons (1949–51) in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies.Nicknamed "Hondo", Hollmig was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg); he threw and batted right-handed. He signed with the Phillies after attending Texas A&M University, where he was an All-Conference football player.

Dee_Fondy

Dee Virgil Fondy (October 31, 1924 – August 19, 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played first base in the Major Leagues from 1951 to 1958. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs.
Fondy was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighed 195 pounds. He spent a portion of his youth in
San Bernardino, California.Fondy was the last player to bat at Ebbets Field. The Pirates lost to the Dodgers 2–0 on September 24, 1957. He grounded out to shortstop Don Zimmer who threw to first baseman Jim Gentile for the final out of the game. He batted above .300 three times, twice for the Cubs and the Pirates during the 1950s.

Johnny_Lucadello

John Lucadello (February 22, 1919 – October 30, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a second baseman, he appeared in 239 Major League games for the St. Louis Browns (1938–1941; 1946) and New York Yankees (1947). The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 160 lb (73 kg) native of Thurber, Texas, threw and batted right-handed. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was the brother of longtime MLB scout Tony Lucadello.
Johnny Lucadello's pro career lasted from 1936 to 1955, with four seasons (1942–1945) missed because of his wartime service. In six Major League seasons, he had 686 at bats, 95 runs scored, 181 hits, 36 doubles, 7 triples, and 5 home runs. He had 60 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, 93 walks, a .264 batting average, a .353 on-base percentage, a .359 slugging percentage, 246 total bases and 5 sacrifice hits.
He died in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 82.