John Wyeth "Red" Marion (March 14, 1914 – March 13, 1975) was briefly an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

in American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

and a longtime

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 ...

at the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

level. A native of

Richburg, South Carolina Richburg is a town in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 275 at the 2010 census, down from 332 at the 2000 census. History The Elliott House and Landsford Plantation House are listed on the National Register of ...

, he was the older brother of

Marty Marion Martin Whiteford "Mr. Shortstop" Marion (December 1, 1917 – March 15, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop and manager (baseball), manager. Marion played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns between 1940 and 195 ...

, the longtime star

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 ...

of 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 ...

and former big league skipper. While Marty played 13 years in the Major Leagues, Red Marion played in only 18 big-league games — four in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and the remainder in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

— all for the Washington Senators. A right-handed batter and thrower, he collected five

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 s ...

in 26

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 ...

, for a .179

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 is ...

. He had one

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

and two

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

. But he would spend 19 seasons as a manager at the minor league level, beginning in 1940 with the Newport Canners of the Class D

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. He spent ten years (1946–55) as a pilot in 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 ...

organization, beginning with the Oneonta Red Sox of the Class C

Canadian–American League The Canadian–American League, nicknamed the Can-Am League, was a class C level minor league baseball circuit which ran from 1936 through 1951, with a three-year break during World War II. It was equivalent to a Rookie-level league in today's ...

and ending with the Triple-A

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 American Association. In 1956 he remained at the Louisville helm for a final half-season, even though the Red Sox no longer sponsored the Colonels. He also managed in 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 ...

s of the Senators and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, before retiring after the 1963 campaign. His career minor league managing record was 1,352 victories and 1,224 defeats, a winning percentage of .525. In 1975, Red Marion died the day before his 61st birthday in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, where he had managed Red Sox and Angels farm teams in the 1950s and 1960s.

References

*Johnson, Lloyd, ed., ''The Minor League Register.'' Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1994.

External links

Baseball Reference – major league profileBaseball Reference – minor league career
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Red 1914 births 1975 deaths Albany Senators players Americus Cardinals players Baseball players from Chester County, South Carolina Birmingham Barons managers Chattanooga Lookouts managers Chattanooga Lookouts players Greenville Spinners players Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Newport Canners players Oneonta Red Sox players Baseball coaches from South Carolina Quincy Indians players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Trenton Senators players Utica Braves players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen