John Robert Tillman (March 24, 1937 – June 23, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

as 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 catcher ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

(1962–67), New York Yankees (1967), and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

(1968–70). He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, Tillman graduated from Isaac Litton High School and attended Middle Tennessee State University and Georgia Tech. He made the 1962 Red Sox' roster out of spring training as one of Boston's three catchers. After drawing walks in his first two MLB

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s, Tillman connected for a

solo home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

against Ted Bowsfield of the Los Angeles Angels in his first official at bat in the majors on May 19 at Fenway Park. His finest season came in , when he set personal bests in every offensive category,

hitting A strike is a directed physical attack with either a part of the human body or with an inanimate object (such as a weapon) intended to cause blunt trauma or penetrating trauma upon an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes. A ...

.278 with 17 home runs and 61 runs batted in in 131 games played. Tillman caught two

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s during his Red Sox days: Earl Wilson's in 1962, and Dave Morehead's in 1965. He spent the first four months of the Red Sox' pennant-winning season on the Boston roster, getting into 30 games, before he was sold to the Yankees on August 8. He later helped the Braves win the National League West Division title, appearing in 69 games, 52 as starting catcher. Tillman was also involved in a notable trade after the 1967 season when he was shipped from the Yankees to the Braves for

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

Bobby Cox. Cox would eventually begin his Baseball Hall of Fame managing career in the New York farm system. Tillman was dealt from the Braves to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for

Hank Allen Harold Andrew "Hank" Allen (born July 23, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder, for the Washington Senators (–), Milwaukee Brewers () and Chicago White ...

and minor-league infielder John Ryan at the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1970."Bucs Swing 6-Player Deal with Kansas City Royals," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Thursday, December 3, 1970.
Retrieved November 1, 2022. In nine seasons he played in 775 games and had 2,329 at-bats, 189 runs, 540 hits, 68 doubles, 10 triples, 79 home runs, 282 RBI, 1 stolen base, 228 walks, a .232 batting average, a .300 on-base percentage, a .371 slugging percentage, 865 total bases, 9 sacrifice hits, 14 sacrifice flies, and 33 intentional walks. He died in Gallatin, Tennessee, at the age of 63.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillman, Bob 1937 births 2000 deaths Allentown Red Sox players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Boston Red Sox players Major League Baseball catchers Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders baseball players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New York Yankees players Raleigh Capitals players Seattle Rainiers players

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