Raymond Lee Murray (October 12, 1917 – April 9, 2003) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A catcher, he appeared in 250

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

over all or parts of six seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1948; 1950–1951),

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

(1951–1953) and Baltimore Orioles (1954). The native of Spring Hope, North Carolina, threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was a veteran of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

Major league career

Murray was a backup catcher to Jim Hegan in Cleveland,

Joe Tipton Joe Hicks Tipton (February 18, 1922 – March 1, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1948 through 1954 with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Athletic ...

in Philadelphia, and Clint Courtney in Baltimore. As a member of the Athletics in , he shared the regular catcher's job with

Joe Astroth Joseph Henry Astroth (September 1, 1922 – May 3, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and remained with the team when they moved w ...

and set personal bests in every major statistical category, including games played (84),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(76),

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 i ...

(six), runs batted in (41) and batting average (.284). All told, he batted .252 with eight homers and 184

during his MLB career. He later managed in minor league baseball in the San Francisco Giants' organization. Murray was a talented catcher with a big bat and a strong throwing arm. In his short career he allowed very few

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s (he notched 69 "caught stealings" in 1,803

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

caught) and quickly gained recognition as a gun slinger at the plate. Murray was known for his colorful antics with the umpires, which may have earned him the nickname "Deacon" for the way he preached to the umps. On one occasion, he stopped in the middle of a game and removed all of his catchers' gear to kneel at home plate and pray to the Lord to give the umpire eyesight because he must be blind, Murray was promptly ejected from the game.

Post-career life

After his baseball career Murray lived until his death in Fort Worth, Texas. He worked for many years for the Tarrant County sheriffs department as a warrant officer until his retirement. Murray raised two children, Buddy and Jill, he was involved in little league baseball for many years. He served as president of the Forest Hill youth association in the 1970s and managed several pony and colt league boys teams. Murray was also a very accomplished golfer carrying a scratch handicap up into his 50s, he was a longtime member of Glen Garden Country Club in Ft. Worth and also a winner of their club championship.

References

External links

RetrosheetPura Pelota – Venezuela Baseball League
*
Ray Murray
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Ray 1917 births 2003 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from North Carolina Cleveland Indians players Corpus Christi Giants players Dallas Eagles players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball managers Oklahoma City Indians players People from Nash County, North Carolina Philadelphia Athletics players Pocomoke City Chicks players Rio Grande Valley Giants players Springfield Giants players Tarboro Orioles players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II