Rick Ferrell

Richard Benjamin Ferrell (October 12, 1905 – July 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive.

Ferrell was born on October 12, 1905, in Durham, North Carolina, to Rufus and Alice, and grew up on a 160-acre dairy farm near Greensboro, North Carolina.

He was one of seven boys, and two of his brothers enjoyed long careers in baseball.

Wes Ferrell reached the major leagues as a pitcher while another brother, George Ferrell, played as an outfielder in minor league baseball.

Rick attended Guilford College in Greensboro where he played both baseball and basketball.

In 1926, he was signed by the Detroit Tigers of the American League (AL), and was assigned to play for the Kinston Eagles of the Virginia League.

Shortly afterward, he was promoted to the Columbus Senators of the American Association, and in 1928 he posted a .333 batting average with them.

His performance that season earned him an American Association All-Star position.

During the season, he personally asked Detroit's owner, Frank Navin, if the organization had a plan in place to bring him up to the Tigers.

Navin told him to be patient and return to Columbus.

When the season concluded, another Columbus catcher, Hugh McMullen, was called up to the major leagues, but to the Cincinnati Reds instead of the Tigers.

Confused as to who actually owned his contract, Ferrell inquired with the Reds about his status with the organization, and was again told to return to Columbus.

After reading through his contract, he believed he was being unfairly held in the minor leagues, so he petitioned the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, to grant him a hearing.

It was discovered that Columbus owner, Joseph Carr, had been shopping Ferrell's contract, receiving offers as high as $50,000, though none were formally presented on paper.

Navin protested to Landis, claiming he was unaware of what Carr was doing.

After the Commissioner completed his investigation, he determined that the Tigers and Reds had colluded to keep Ferrell in the minor leagues, and directed Carr to shop for buyers.

This move by the two teams effectively hid him from the other major league teams' draft rights to increase Ferrell's sale price.

This was a common, although illegal, practice during this era, so Landis declared Ferrell a free agent, allowing him to sign a contract with any team he chose, except the Tigers.

After receiving offers from many major league clubs, he signed a contract with the St. Louis Browns of the AL for $25,000.

He played for 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Senators, from 1929 through 1947.

Ferrell made his major league debut with the Browns at the age of 23 on April 19, 1929.

He spent the 1929 season as a reserve catcher backing up veteran Wally Schang, and had a .229 batting average in 64 games.

New Browns manager and former catcher, Bill Killefer, made Ferrell his starting catcher for the next three seasons, and he would catch in more than 100 games in each.

Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the 1930s and early 1940s.

His batting average rose to .306 in 1931, elevating him one to one of the best catchers in the American League.

Although he led the league's catchers in errors and passed balls, he also led the league in assists.

In 1932, Ferrell hit .315, the best among American League catchers, with 30 doubles and 65 runs batted in.

He ended the season ranked 13th in voting for the 1932 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

His brother, Wes Ferrell, was a major league pitcher for 15 seasons, and they were teammates from 1933 through part of 1938 on the Red Sox and Senators.

Following his three seasons in minor league baseball, he appealed to the Commissioner of Baseball to become a free agent, claiming that he was being held in the minors though he deserved promotion.

The Commissioner agreed, and he was granted free agency; he signed with the St. Louis Browns.

While playing for the Red Sox in 1933, he and his brother Wes were selected to play for the American League (AL) team in the inaugural 1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6, 1933.

His 1,806 games played as a catcher set an AL longevity record which stood for more than 40 years.

On May 10, 1933, the financially strained Browns traded Ferrell, along with Lloyd Brown to the Boston Red Sox, in exchange for Merv Shea and some cash.

Two months later, Ferrell was selected along with his brother to play for the American League team in the inaugural Major League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6, 1933.

American League manager Connie Mack used Ferrell to catch the entire game in a 4–2 American League victory, even though future Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey was also on the team.

When the Red Sox played the Cleveland Indians two weeks later on July 19, 1933, Ferrell hit a home run against his brother Wes, who later hit a home run off Boston pitcher Hank Johnson, marking the first time in major league history that brothers on opposing teams had hit home runs in the same game.

A seven-time All-Star, Ferrell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 by the Veterans Committee.

After his playing career, he became a coach with the Senators, and later a scout and general manager with the Detroit Tigers.

He died in July 1995 at the age of 89.