Don Wilson Padgett (December 5, 1911 – December 9, 1980) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1937–41), Brooklyn Dodgers (1946), Boston Braves (1946) and Philadelphia Phillies (1947–48). Padgett, born in Caroleen, North Carolina, batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He attended Lenoir-Rhyne College. Padgett's professional career stretched from 1935 through 1951. From 1942 to 1945 Padgett served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II. In , Padgett — while serving as backup catcher to Cardinals receiver

Mickey Owen Arnold Malcolm "Mickey" Owen (April 4, 1916 – July 13, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a catcher for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brookly ...

— batted a lofty .399 in 92 games played, 257 plate appearances and 233

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, but did not qualify for the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

batting championship. All told, in eight Major League seasons he played in 699 games and had 1,991 At Bats, 247 Runs, 573 Hits, 111 Doubles, 16 Triples, 37 Home Runs, 338 RBI, 6 Stolen Bases, 141 Walks, .288 Batting Average, .336 On-base percentage, .415 Slugging Percentage, 827 Total Bases and 10 Sacrifice Hits. Padgett died in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...

, four days after his 69th birthday.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Padgett, Don 1911 births 1980 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Baseball players from North Carolina Boston Braves players Brooklyn Dodgers players Columbus Red Birds players Houston Buffaloes players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers Oakland Oaks (baseball) players People from Caroleen, North Carolina Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players Salisbury Pirates players