Charles Ludy "Chase" Riddle (September 17, 1925 – June 12, 2011) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. Riddle made his mark in both professional baseball, where he had a 36-year career (1943–78), mostly with 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

organization, and in U.S. college ranks as the successful head baseball coach of

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

(1979–90), where he won two Division II

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

baseball championships and compiled a record of 435–149–2 (.745). His uncles

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

and

Elmer Riddle Elmer Ray Riddle (July 31, 1914 – May 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in all or parts of ten Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons (1939–45; 1947–49) for the Cincinnati Reds and Pit ...

played in the Major Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s. Riddle attended high school in his hometown of

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II, and attended then-Troy State University, where he played varsity football. He broke into professional baseball as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in 1943 and spent much of his career 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 catc ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, but he would eventually play every baseball position, including

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, during his long career in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. Much of his early career was spent in the lower rungs of the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

of 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and apart from 35 games with the Double-A Dallas Eagles of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 1954 he toiled largely in the lowest levels of the minors, spending all or parts of 14 seasons at the Class C or Class D level. A 6-foot (1.8 m), 190-pound (86 kg) right-handed batter and thrower, he batted .319 with 155

home runs 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 ...

in 1,387 games played. In 1953, as playing manager of the Panama City Fliers of the Class D Alabama–Florida League, Riddle batted .411 and swatted 25 homers in 436

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

. His managing career began with unaffiliated teams in the Alabama-Florida circuit in 1951, but in 1955 he joined the Cardinals' system, managing through 1962, then shifting to a scouting job for the next 16 seasons — signing eventual

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

pitcher

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

for the Redbirds in 1964. In 1979, he became head baseball coach of the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

, winning Division II titles in 1986 and 1987 and five

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

championships. The Troy University baseball stadium is named Riddle-Pace Field in his honor. He was inducted in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. On his death at age 85 in June 2011, ''The Montgomery Advertiser'' wrote: "In this state, there are few sports figures more revered than Riddle.

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

had Paul 'Bear' Bryant nd Auburn had Ralph 'Shug' Jordan, but in the baseball world, Riddle and longtime Jacksonville State coach Rudy Abbott were the two leaders whose impact transcended their sport."Obituary, ''The Montgomery Advertiser'', June 13, 2011

References

External links

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame pageObituary, ''The Montgomery Advertiser'', June 13, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Chase 1925 births 2011 deaths Albany Cardinals players Allentown Wings players Baseball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball players from Columbus, Georgia Batavia Clippers players Billings Mustangs managers Billings Mustangs players Dallas Eagles players Dothan Cardinals players Durham Bulls players Galveston White Caps players Harrisburg Senators players Norfolk Tides managers Oneonta Red Sox players Ozark Eagles players Panama City Fliers players Roanoke Red Sox players St. Louis Cardinals scouts Tarboro Tars players Troy Trojans baseball coaches Troy Trojans football players United States Navy personnel of World War II Williamsport Tigers players