Leycester Doyle "Leslie" Aulds (December 28, 1920 – October 13, 1999), also known as "Tex" Aulds, was an American professional

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 ...

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 ...

. He appeared in three major-league games, all for the 1947 Boston Red Sox.

Early life

Aulds was born in

Farmerville, Louisiana Farmerville is a town in and the parish seat of Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. It has also been known as Farmersville. The population was 3,860 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is ...

, and raised in the

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

, area where he was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

and excelled at sports in high school. He was first signed by a scout from the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in 1941, and played 21 games for the Class C

Tucson Cowboys Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson metropolitan s ...

in the Arizona-Texas League.

Military service

Aulds joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in September 1942 and was stationed at

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...

in Texas. While there, he played both baseball and football, including an appearance in the

1944 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic was a postseason college football bowl game between the fourteenth ranked Texas Longhorns and the Randolph Field Ramblers, a military institution squad from San Antonio, TX. Background Randolph boasted many former co ...

where he scored a touchdown. In 1945, Aulds transferred to

Camp Pinedale Pinedale is a community within the city of Fresno, California. Once a rural unincorporated community located on the Southern Pacific Railroad north-northwest of Clovis, Pinedale has since become surrounded and annexed by the city of Fresno. It l ...

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, where he continue to play baseball; he was released from military service late in 1945 at the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Time with Red Sox organization

Aulds was signed by a Red Sox scout in 1946, and he played for the

Scranton Red Sox Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolita ...

of the Class A Eastern League. He appeared in 105 games, batting .263 and was named a first team all-star. In 1947, Aulds started the seasons with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the Class AAA American Association, however he sustained a spiking injury early in the season, after which he sat out for several weeks. In May, the Red Sox released their third-string catcher, Frankie Hayes, and Aulds was promoted to the major league club. Aulds appeared in three games with the Red Sox, all as a catcher. The first was on May 25, when he entered a game the Red Sox were losing against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

10–0. He batted twice, collecting one hit off of

Bill Bevens Floyd Clifford "Bill" Bevens (October 21, 1916 – October 26, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees from through . Bevens is notable fo ...

. His second appearance was May 30, when he entered a game the Red Sox were losing 10–4 to the Washington Senators; he batted once but did not get a hit. His final appearance was on June 22, when the Red Sox were losing 8–2 against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

; again he batted once and was hitless. In those three games he caught a total of 9 innings, recording 7

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...

s. For the remainder of the 1947 season, Aulds played 32 games with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

of the Class AA

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, with a .245 batting average. In 1948, Aulds again played for Louisville, batting .235 and appearing in 104 games. In 1949, his final year in the Red Sox organization, he split time between Louisville where he batted .185 in 9 games, and Scranton where he batted .250 in 48 games.

Later life

Aulds played

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

baseball in Texas during the 1950s, and for many years umpired in the collegiate

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

. He died at his home in

Hondo, Texas Hondo is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 8,289. It is part of the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area. History Hondo was the scene of two bank robber ...

, on October 13, 1999, while watching the television broadcast of the first game of the

1999 American League Championship Series The 1999 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a semifinal matchup in Major League Baseball's 1999 postseason between the East Division Champion and top-seeded New York Yankees (98–64) and the Wild Card Boston Red Sox (94–68). The Y ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aulds, Leslie 1920 births 1999 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Boston Red Sox players Randolph Field Ramblers football players People from Farmerville, Louisiana Baseball players from Louisiana People from Hondo, Texas Sportspeople from Greater San Antonio Military personnel from Louisiana United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers 20th-century American sportsmen