Walter Charles Post (July 9, 1929 – January 6, 1982) 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 ...

player. He played in

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 ...

as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

from 1949 to 1964, most prominently as a member of 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 ...

, where he was one of the most prolific power hitters in team history, and was an integral member of the

National League pennant The National League pennant winner of a given Major League Baseball season is the team that wins the championship—the pennant—of MLB's National League (NL). This team receives the Warren C. Giles Trophy and the right to play in the World S ...

-winning team. Post formed a power-hitting tandem with

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

for the Reds teams of the 1950s and early 1960s.Wally Post Fielding
at fangraphs.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 Post was also notable for his long distance home runs. He also played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

and 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 ...

.Wally Post Batting
at thebaseballcube.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 Post was inducted into the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...

in 1965.

Career

Post is a native of

Wendelin, Ohio Wendelin is an unincorporated community in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvani ...

, and played baseball for St. Henry High School. He spent most of his career with Cincinnati teams. A powerful slugger in the mid-1950s,Wally Post
at baseballlibrary.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 he also was respected for his strong and accurate throwing arm. Post broke into professional baseball as a

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 ...

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, ...

in and was converted to an outfielder in 1949, the year of his majors debut.The Obit for Wally Post
at thedeadballera.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 Post spent time in both the minor and major leagues for the next two years before finally being permanently called up to Cincinnati in . His most productive season came in , when he hit .309 with 40 home runs with 109 RBI, all career highs. WallyPostbowman

In , Post and six of his Redleg teammates—

Ed Bailey Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-St ...

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where ...

Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan (July 17, 1929 – November 2, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1951 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, wh ...

Don Hoak Donald Albert Hoak (February 5, 1928 – October 9, 1969), nicknamed "Tiger", was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, C ...

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1950 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds ...

and

—were "voted" starters on the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

All-Star team, the result of a

ballot stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

campaign by Redlegs fans.

Major League Baseball Commissioner The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the commissi ...

Ford Frick Ford Christopher Frick (December 19, 1894 – April 8, 1978) was an American sportswriter and baseball executive. After working as a teacher and as a sportswriter for the ''New York Journal-American, New York American'', he served as public rela ...

intervened, removing Bell and Post from the starting lineup and replacing them with

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

and

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

. Frick allowed Bell to remain on the team as a reserve, while Post was injured and would have been unable to play in any event.1957 All-Star Game
at baseball-almanac.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 On April 14, 1961, Post hit one of the longest recorded home runs in baseball history at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The mammoth blast was estimated at 569 ft. from Jim Brosnan's book "Pennant Race" Post is also noted as the man who ended Aaron's record-setting stint on the 1950s ''

Home Run Derby The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

'' show. Post also hit the first home run at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

in Los Angeles on April 10, 1962.Building O'Malley's Dream Stadium
at walteromalley.com, URL accessed August 20, 2009 After playing for the Phillies, Twins, Indians, and in a second stint with the Reds, Post retired in 1963. He was inducted into the

in 1965. In a 15-season career, Post was a .266

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to dri ...

with 210

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 ( ...

s and 699 RBI in 1,204

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. Following his baseball career, Post worked in management at his father-in-law's business, the Minster Canning Company of

Minster, Ohio Minster is a village in Auglaize and Shelby counties, in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 3,046 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is adjacent to the village of New Breme ...

. Post died in St. Henry, Ohio in 1982. He had been undergoing treatments for cancer. He was married to Patricia (Beckman) and they had four children together: Sue, John, Mary, and Cynthia. Post has 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. One of his grandchildren is former Ohio State and NFL quarterback

Bobby Hoying Robert Carl Hoying (born September 20, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was selected in the third r ...

.Wally Post still huge in tiny town
at reds.enquirer.com, URL accessed December 11, 2009.

References

External links

Wally Post
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Wally 1929 births 1982 deaths Baseball players from Ohio Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Columbia Reds players Deaths from cancer in Ohio Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball right fielders Middletown Rockets players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minnesota Twins players Muncie Reds players People from St. Henry, Ohio Sportspeople from Mercer County, Ohio Philadelphia Phillies players Syracuse Chiefs players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen