Chester Borner Trail (born January 19, 1944) is an American former

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 professiona ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

man. He was a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB active ro ...

, as he never appeared in any games while on the active player roster of a

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) ...

(MLB) team. He was declared eligible for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

roster for the

1964 World Series The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Ame ...

Playing career

Trail attended Libbey High School in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, where he was a star player in baseball, basketball and tennis. He was later recruited by

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

, but accepted a scholarship from

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...

instead, as they offered him the opportunity to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. Trail began being scouted by the

. At tall, Trail believed that he was too short to have a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought l ...

career, so he signed with the

under the bonus rule on July 1, 1962, when he reportedly received a $43,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Trail made his professional debut in 1963 for the

Fort Lauderdale Yankees The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...

, a minor league team in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

, where he had a .260

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

. In 1964, Trail was with the

Greensboro Yankees Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

, where he batted .257; he also played in the

Florida Instructional League The Florida Instructional League (FIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. The league was founded in 1958. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the FIL, while experienced players may ...

. Trail was ruled eligible for Yankees'

roster, but he was not activated and did not play. The Yankees had named Trail their "designated player" for the season under the aforementioned bonus rule, which allowed him to be assigned to a minor league club while still counting against (and being considered part of) the team's 25-man active roster. Returning to Greensboro in 1965, Trail batted .276 with 22

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 is ...

s and 89

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. In 1966, he began the season with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

, but struggled to get in the starting line up and was demoted to Greensboro. Trail played for the

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League ...

of the Eastern League and the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

of the International League in 1967. The Yankees eventually traded Trail to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

with Joe Brady on December 15, 1967, to complete an earlier trade where the Yankees acquired

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams between 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 s ...

for

Ray Barker Major General Ray Wehnes Barker (December 10, 1889 – June 28, 1974) was a United States Army officer of the Allied Forces, and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Barker was a key member of the combined United Sta ...

players to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

, and cash. Trail retired after the 1969 season without playing in the major leagues. Trail is the only player to have appeared on a World Series eligibility list without ever appearing in a major league game.Snyder, John
''The World Series' Most Wanted''
p. 104.

Potomac Books The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Unive ...

, 2004. . "Chet Trail is the only player in history to appear on a World Series eligibility roster without ever appearing in a major league game." There are, however, examples of a player making his major league debut in the postseason ( Bug Holliday in 1885), a player making his major league debut in the World Series (

Adalberto Mondesí Raúl Adalberto Mondesí (born July 27, 1995) is a Dominican American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Mondesí is the first player in modern MLB histor ...

in 2015), and a player's only major league appearances being in the postseason ( Mark Kiger in 2006).

Personal life

Trail's father, Eddie, played baseball in the Ohio-Indiana Negro League. Chet Trail was the third of ten children. Trail took courses at Bowling Green State during his playing career. After he retired, Trail worked in insurance and investments, and coached basketball at

Sylvania Southview High School Sylvania Southview High School is a public high school in Sylvania, Ohio. It is one of two high schools in the Sylvania Schools district, the other being Sylvania Northview High School. Extracurriculars Speech and Debate Sylvania Southview ...

. He became a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, and later a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, working at Grace Temple Church of God in Christ in Toledo and Greater St. James Church of God in Christ in

Fremont, Ohio Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located along the banks of the Sandusky River. It is about 35 miles from Toledo and 25 miles from Sandusky. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area. The popula ...

. Trail and his wife, Donna, have three daughters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trail, Chet 1944 births Living people Bowling Green State University alumni Businesspeople from Ohio Baseball players from Toledo, Ohio Baseball infielders Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Yankees players Florida Instructional League Yankees players Toledo Mud Hens players Syracuse Chiefs players Binghamton Triplets players Rochester Red Wings players Elmira Pioneers players Tacoma Cubs players Tidewater Tides players American bishops African-American baseball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Playing career

Personal life

See also

References

External links