Don Blasingame

Donald Lee Blasingame (March 16, 1932 – April 13, 2005), nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball second baseman.

He helped Corinth High win the state championship in 1949.

The Houston Buffaloes of the Class AA Texas League tried him out during 1951 spring training, but he went off to serve in the United States Army for two years during the Korean War.

Blasingame went to David Lipscomb College in his offseasons between 1952 and 1953 and again between 1953 and 1954.

The college was located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Blasingame's first professional team was the Winston-Salem Cardinals of the Class B Carolina League.

He had 141 hits in 131 games, along with seven home runs and a .290 batting average.

For the following season, he went to spring training with the Buffaloes.

He suffered two injuries in spring training, burning his hand by grabbing a light bulb in a hotel room, then tripping over a base the day before the season, causing him to miss the first two weeks.

However, he impressed the team enough to make their roster.

“Can you imagine what a favorite he'll be if he keeps on looking like he does now?” manager Dixie Walker asked.

Born and raised in Corinth, Mississippi, Blasingame signed with the Cardinals in 1953 after a stint in the United States Army.

Once his military service ended, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1953.

Blasingame batted .315 in 144 games (575 at bats) with Houston in 1954, racking up 181 hits, five home runs, and 51 runs batted in (RBI).

He demonstrated great speed with the team, stealing 34 bases and earning the nickname "Don Blazing-game."

Eventually shortened to "Blazer," the nickname would follow him for the rest of his career.

Walker said, "He wears the dirtiest uniform on the club. That's the highest tribute I can pay him."

Houston won the Texas League pennant and played the Atlanta Crackers in the Dixie Series after the season.

Though he had played shortstop these seasons, Blasingame was moved to second base during winter ball in Cuba after the 1954 season, groomed to replace Red Schoendienst at the position once his tenure with the Cardinals ended.

He played 132 games (497 at bats) with the Omaha Cardinals of the Class AAA American Association, batting .302 with 150 hits, three home runs, 46 RBI, and 17 stolen bases, earning a September call-up to the St. Louis Cardinals.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960–1961), Cincinnati Reds (1961–1963), Washington Senators (1963–1966), and Kansas City Athletics (1966).

Blasingame threw right-handed, batted left-handed and was listed as 5 ft tall and 160 lb.

He made his debut for the team in September 1955 and took over the second base job from Red Schoendienst in 1956.

Blasingame made his major league debut at age 23 on September 20, 1955, in a 2–0 Cardinals win over the Chicago Cubs.

Starting at second base and batting leadoff, his first career at bat resulted in his first hit, a single off Sam Jones, and he scored on a Solly Hemus home run.

In 1957, he finished twelfth in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting, and he reached his only All-Star Game in 1958.

He played one more season for the Cardinals in 1959 before getting traded to the Giants.

With San Francisco, Blasingame's batting average was significantly lower than it had been with St. Louis, and he lost the second base job in 1961, then was traded early in the season to the Reds.

He made it to the World Series with the Reds during his first year and batted .281 for them in 1962.

In 1963, he lost the second base role to Pete Rose and was traded to the Senators midseason.

Blasingame served as Washington's second baseman until 1966, platooned with Chuck Cottier for the first half of that year, then went to the Athletics and spent a month with them as a pinch hitter to finish his major league career.

After that, Blasingame went to Japan.

He spent three seasons playing with the Nankai Hawks, then coached the team for several years.

From 1979 to 1980, he managed the Hanshin Tigers, and from 1981 to 1982, he managed Nankai.

Returning to the U.S., he served as a minor league coordinator for the Philadelphia Phillies afterward.

In his later years, he lived in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Blasingame was born and raised in Corinth, Mississippi.

He was the third boy and fourth child of Chester Henry "Doc" and Ottie May Blasingame.

Doc was a butcher in West Corinth at a local meat market.

Don attended Corinth High School and excelled playing baseball for them and for American Legion Post 6 in Corinth.