Johnny Blanchard

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Johnny Blanchard
File:Johnny Blanchard.png
Outfielder / Catcher
Born: (1933-02-26)February 26, 1933
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Died: Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 25, 1955, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1965, for the Milwaukee Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average .239
Home runs 67
Runs batted in 200
Teams
Career highlights and awards

John Edwin Blanchard (February 26, 1933 – March 25, 2009) was a professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder and catcher from 1955 and 1959–1965.

Career

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Blanchard attended DeLaSalle High School before transferring to Central High School, where he played football and basketball in addition to baseball. He played semi-professional baseball in Iowa before being signed by the New York Yankees to a professional contract. After three seasons of playing in the minor leagues, and a two-year period in which he served in the U.S. Army, Blanchard played briefly for the Yankees in 1955. It took Blanchard four years to return to the major leagues, but he gained playing time in 1960 due to injuries to the Yankees' top two catchers.[1] Sportswriter Bill Madden called Blanchard "probably the most famous third-string catcher in baseball history."[2] Blanchard remained with the Yankees through 1965, mainly serving as a backup catcher, and played 93 games during the team's World Series-winning 1961 season, hitting 21 home runs.[3] Among those were four home runs in consecutive at-bats during a three-game span, a total that set a major league record.[4]

A defensive liability for the Yankees for most of his career, Blanchard is probably best known for his play in the 1961 World Series. He hit 2 home runs in that series against the Cincinnati Reds and batted .400 for the entire series.[5] In his career, Blanchard appeared in the World Series 5 times for the Yankees and holds the Major League record with ten World Series pinch-hit at-bats. Blanchard was the catcher who called the pitch that Bill Mazeroski hit for the first-ever series ending home run off Ralph Terry in the 1960 World Series in which the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the heavily favored Yankees.

Blanchard was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, as part of a three-player transaction. He remained with the team until September 1965, when his contract was sold to the Milwaukee Braves. After 10 games with the Braves in 1965, Blanchard did not play baseball in 1966; a comeback attempt in 1968 was unsuccessful.[1] For his major league career, he played in 516 games, posting a .239 batting average, hitting 67 home runs, and driving in 200 runs.[3]

Death

Blanchard died of a heart attack in North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota on March 25, 2009.[6] His funeral was held at The Church of St. Mary of the Lake in Plymouth, Minnesota on Monday March 30, 2009 at 11:00AM.

References

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External links

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  5. ↑ Career statistics and history at Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ↑ "Johnny Blanchard, who played with Yankees, dies of heart attack", Tim Harlow, Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 25, 2009
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