There have been a large number of baseball player family members and many of them have had a catcher in the family (ie. Yogi Berra and son Dale an infielder and the Boone family of Grandfather Ray, son Bob and grandson Brett). However, only 18 sets have been both catchers (full or part time).
They say “like father like son” and for eight families that has been true when both have been catchers. The following sons sure gave a Nice Father’s Day gift to their Dads when they followed in their footsteps:
Father Earle Brucker Sr. (1937-1943) and Son Earle Brucker Jr. (1948)
Father Sam Hairston (1951) and Son John Hairston (1969)
Father Randy Hundley (1964-1977) and Son Todd Hundley (1990-20xx)
Father Fred Kendall (1969-1980) and Son Jason Kendall (1997-20xx)
Father Connie Mack (1886-1896) and Son Earle Mack (1910)
Father Billy Sullivan Sr. (1899-1916) and Son Billy Sullivan Jr. (1931-1947)
Father Haywood Sullivan (1955-1963) and Son Marc Sullivan (1982-1987)
Father Ozzie Virgil Sr. (1956-1969) and Son Ozzie Virgil Jr. (1980-1990)
Ten of the family pairings have been brothers, the most notable of which is Hall Of Famer Bill Dickey and his brother George. The sibling catcher list includes:
Doug Allison (1871-1883) and Art Allison (1871-1876)
Marty Bergen (1896-1899) and Bill Bergen (1901-1911)
Eddie Boyle (1896) and Jack Boyle (1886-1898)
Amos Cross (1885-1887) and Lave Cross (1887-1907)
Joe Daly (1890-1892) and Tom Daly (1887-1903)
Harry Danning (1933-1942) and Ike Danning (1928)
Bill Dickey (1928-1946) and George Dickey (1935-1947)
Pat Donahue (1908-1910) and Jiggs Donahue (1900-1909)
Jerry Dorgan (1880-1885) and Mike Dorgan (1877-1890)
Frank Mancuso (1944-1947) and Gus Mancuso (1928-1945)
And lets not forget those other relatives. We have uncle-nephew and cousin catchers by the dozens. The most noteworthy is one of the newer members of the managing corps, Jerry Narron of the Texas Rangers:
Uncle Sam Narron (1935-1943) and Nephew Jerry Narron (1979-1987)
But the most unusual has to be battery mates Billy Sullivan Sr. and pitcher Ed Walsh Sr. who set the stage for their sons Billy Sullivan Jr. and pitcher Ed Walsh Jr. to form the only major league “Battery of Sons of a Battery” in the match-up that occurred in a single game in 1932 (Chicago White Sox). Now that's a Father's Day.
» Chuck Rosciam maintains the Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers at www.baseballcatchers.com
Also by Chuck Rosciam
» Amateur Draft Catchers
» Gold & Silver Catchers
» Catching Three No-Hitters
» More submissions
Posted June 13, 2001.
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