Sam Narron (catcher)

Samuel Woody Narron (August 25, 1913 — December 31, 1996) was an American Major League Baseball player and coach. Born in Middlesex, North Carolina, Narron batted and threw right-handed; he stood 5'10" (178 cm) tall and weighed 180 pounds (81.7 kg).

Narron, a catcher, spent almost his entire playing career in minor league baseball. Originally an outfielder, he led the Class D Georgia-Florida League in batting average with a .349 mark in 1936. The following year, he became a catcher and twice batted over .300 for the Rochester Red Wings of the AA International League.

But Narron's major league service was brief. He appeared in parts of three seasons (1935, 1941 and 1942) with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in 24 games and hitting .286 with one run batted in in just 28 at bats.

A protege of longtime MLB executive Branch Rickey, Narron continued in baseball after his playing career ended in 1948. He was the bullpen catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers during 1949 and 1950, the last two years of Rickey's tenure there, then followed him to the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Buccos' major league bullpen coach from 1952-1964. He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the uncle of major league catcher Jerry Narron [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/N/Narron_Sam.stm] ] and the grandfather of pitcher Sam Narron.

Sam Narron died in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the age of 83.

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/n/narrosa01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=narrosa01 Baseball Almanac]