Rick Ferrell - Baseball Playing Career

Baseball Playing Career

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Ferrell was the fourth of seven brothers. His brother, Wes Ferrell, reached the major leagues as a pitcher while another brother, George Ferrell, played as an outfielder in minor league baseball. Ferrell attended Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina where he played both baseball and basketball. He was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1926 and was assigned to play for the Kinston Eagles of the Virginia League. While playing for the Columbus Senators of the American Association in 1928, he posted a .333 batting average but, failed to get called to the major league club. Ferrell suspected that he was being unfairly held in the minor leagues, a common practice at the time and, at the end of the season, he requested free agency from the Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Landis agreed that Ferrell was being illegally held back and granted him free agency, allowing him to sign a contract with the St. Louis Browns.

Ferrell made his major league debut with the Browns on April 19, 1929. He spent the 1929 season as a reserve catcher backing up veteran Wally Schang, hitting for a .229 batting average in 64 games. New Browns manager and former catcher, Bill Killefer, made Ferrell his starting catcher for the 1930 season and, for the next three seasons he would catch in more than 100 games. His batting average rose to a .306 in 1931 making him one of the best hitting catchers in the American League and, although he led the league's catchers in errors and passed balls, he also led the league in assists. In 1932, Ferrell hit .315, the best among American League catchers, with 30 doubles and 65 runs batted in. He ended the season ranked thirteenth in voting for the 1932 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

On May 10, 1933, the Boston Red Sox purchased Ferrell from the financially strapped Browns. Two months later, Ferrell was selected along with his brother to play for the American League team in the inaugural Major League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6, 1933. American League manager Connie Mack used Ferrell to catch the entire game in a 4-2 American League victory, even though future Hall of Fame members Mickey Cochrane and Bill Dickey were also on the team. When the Red Sox played the Cleveland Indians two weeks later on July 19, 1933, Ferrell hit a home run against his brother Wes, who later hit a home run off Boston pitcher Hank Johnson, marking the first time in major league history that brothers on opposing teams had hit home runs in the same game. Ferrel ended the year with a .290 batting average along with a career-high 77 runs batted in. Although Ferrell once again led American League catchers in errors, he also led in assists and in baserunners caught stealing. Despite the Red Sox' seventh place finish, Ferrell ranked twelfth in voting for the 1933 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

In 1934, the Red Sox signed Ferrell's brother Wes, creating one of the few brother-batteries in Major League history. He ended the year with a .297 batting average and led the league's catchers in fielding percentage and in putouts and, finished second in assists. With Ferrell calling the pitches in 1935, his brother pitched to an impressive 25-14 won-loss record to finish as runner-up to Hank Greenberg in voting for the 1935 American League Most Valuable Player Award. Ferrell posted a .301 batting average for the year and led the league in baserunners caught stealing.

Ferrel had another good year in 1936, leading the league with a .439 batting average at the beginning of May to earn the starting catcher's berth for the American League team in the 1936 All-Star Game. He ended the season with a .312 batting average along with career-highs in home runs (8) and in on base percentage (.406). He also led the league's catchers in putouts and finished second in fielding percentage In June 1937, Ferrell was hitting for a .308 average when he was traded to the Washington Senators along with his brother and Mel Almada for pitcher Bobo Newsom and outfielder Ben Chapman. Between 1933 and 1936, Ferrell broke Red Sox catchers' records in batting, doubles, home runs and runs batted in. His .302 batting average with Boston is 12th on the club's all-time list.

Playing with a partially broken right hand, he ended the year with the Senators batting .244. Ferrell rebounded in 1938 with a .298 batting average and led the league in baserunners caught stealing. The Senators would release his brother Wes in August 1938. In May 1941, Ferrell was traded back to the St. Louis Browns where he caught 100 games for the sixth-place Browns. In 1942, the 36-year-old Ferrell shared catching duties with Frankie Hayes as the Browns improved to a 82-69 won-loss record to finish the year in third place.

Ferrell was once again traded back to the Senators in March 1944. He earned a reputation as one of the best knuckleball catchers in baseball when, he had the arduous task of catching for a Senators' starting pitching staff made up entirely of knuckleball pitchers. Dutch Leonard, Johnny Niggeling, Roger Wolff, and Mickey Haefner all threw the notoriously difficult to catch knuckleball, making Ferrell the first catcher in major league history to accomplish the feat. Although Ferrell led the league in passed balls due to the unpredictability of the knuckleball, he was still named to his seventh All-Star Game. The Senators ended the season in last place while, Ferrell's former team, the St. Louis Browns won the 1944 American League pennant. Ferrell missed his only opportunity to play in the World Series by one year.

Ferrell shared catching duties with Al Evans in 1945 as the Senators started to win regularly. In July 1945, Ferrell broke Ray Schalk’s American League record for most games caught (1,721). He was selected to be a reserve catcher for the American League in the 1945 All-Star Game however, the game was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions. In the final week of the 1945 season, the Senators come within one and a half games of winning the American League pennant, ultimately clinched by the Detroit Tigers. Ferrell retired as a player to become a Senators coach for the 1946 season however, he returned to play as a catcher for 37 games in 1947, hitting for a .303 batting average. He played his final major league game on September 14, 1947 at the age of 41.