Rick Ferrell
Likable Rick Ferrell had a long and distinguished career in baseball, as a player, coach, scout, GM and executive. He was the starting catcher for the American League in the first six All-Star games ever played. He caught more than 1,800 games in a career spent with the Browns, Senators and Red Sox. Unfortunately, those clubs rarely posted winning records, and the closest Ferrell came to the World Series was in 1945 when he was 39 years old and Washington lost the pennant on the next-to-the-last day of the season. A career .281 hitter, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984 at the age of 79, primarily due to his defensive abilities.
Played For
St. Louis Browns (1929-1933)
Boston Red Sox (1933-1937)
Washington Senators (1937-1941)
St. Louis Browns (1941-1943)
Washington Senators (1944-1947)
All-Time Rankings
Rick Ferrell ranks #28 among the Top 50 all-time at C. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1932
Ferrell had a very good year. At that time few catchers could hit and excel at the position defensively. With the Browns, Ferrell batted .315 in 126 games, while leading AL catchers with 78 assists from behind the plate. He also hit 30 doubles and drove in 65 runs from the #8 spot in the St. Louis order. Ferrell also batted .300 in 1931 and 1936, and in 1947 at the age of 41.
Most Games Caught
1. Carlton Fisk... 2,226
2. Bob Boone... 2,225
3. Gary Carter... 2,056
4. Tony Pena... 1,950
5. Jim Sundberg... 1,927
6. Al Lopez... 1,918
7. Lance Parrish... 1,818
8. Rick Ferrell... 1,806
9. Gabby Hartnett... 1,793
10. Benito Santiago... 1,792
Knuckled Under
With the Senators in 1945, Ferrell set a record that will probably never be approached. That season he regularly caught four knuckleball pitchers. The Senators pitching rotation consisted of knuckleballers Dutch Leonard, Roger Wolff, Mickey Haefner and Johnny Niggeling. Only when Marino Pieretti was on the mound did Ferrell get a break from the dancing knuckler.
Where He Played
Ferrell's 1,806 games behind the plate were an American League record when he retired in 1947.
Born
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was born on October 12, 1905, in Durham, NC.
Died
July 27, 1995, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: C
Primary Team: SLA
Major League Debut
April 19, 1929 ... When Ferrell entered the American League he was playing against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. In his last season in the big leagues he was playing on the same field with Larry Doby, the first African American in the junior circuit.
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1929
Rick Ferrell
Doc Cramer
Earl Averill
Bobo Newsom
Larry French
Chief Hogsett
Dale Alexander
Lyn Lary
Eric McNair
Uniform Numbers
#8 (1931-1933 Browns, 1938-1941 Senators, 1944-1945 Senators), #9 (1933 Red Sox, 1942-1943 Browns), #7 (1934-1935), #2 (1936-1937 Red Sox), #10 (1937 Senators), #11 (1941 Browns), #37 (1947)
Family Tree
Ferrell's brother Wes was a better player than Rick. The two played together on the Boston Red Sox from 1934 to 1937, when they were traded in tandem in mid-season to the Senators. Wes was a strong athlete with a great arm and good bat. He actually hit more homers in his career (38), than his Hall of Fame brother (28).
Similar Players
Jimmie Wilson, Luke Sewell
Related Players
Wes Ferrell, Al Lopez, Ernie Lombardi, Carlton Fisk
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1956 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.5% |
1958 |
BBWAA |
9 |
3.4% |
1960 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.4% |
1984 |
Veterans |
|
% |
|
Transactions
May 9, 1933: Traded by the St. Louis Browns with Lloyd Brown to the Boston Red Sox for Merv Shea and cash; June 11, 1937: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Mel Almada and Wes Ferrell to the Washington Senators for Ben Chapman and Bobo Newsom; May 15, 1941: Traded by the Washington Senators to the St. Louis Browns for Vern Kennedy; March 1, 1944: Traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Washington Senators for Tony Giuliani and cash. Tony Giuliani refused to report to his new team. The Washington Senators sent Gene Moore (March 1, 1944) to the Browns to complete the trade.
All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL
1935 AL
1936 AL
1937 AL
1938 AL
1944 AL
1945 AL
Replaced
Wally Schang
Replaced By
Al Evans and Jake Early
Best Strength as a Player
Blocking pitches and knowledge of the strike zone.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Power
Learn More about Rick Ferrell
Search Amazon.com for Books about Rick Ferrell ⇒
Search for Rick Ferrell at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
