Neal Watlington
| Neal Watlington | |
|---|---|
.png) Watlington with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: December 25, 1922 Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: December 29, 2019 (aged 97) Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 10, 1953, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 17, 1953, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .159 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 3 |
| Teams | |
Julius Neal Watlington (December 25, 1922 – December 29, 2019) was an American
right-handed
; he was listed as 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Watlington broke into
New York Giants in 1947. Primarily a catcher, Watlington was acquired by Philadelphia in February 1952 when the Athletics took over as parent team of the Triple-A Ottawa Giants of the International League
.
The Athletics recalled Watlington from Ottawa in the midsummer of 1953, and he appeared in 21
bases on balls. He scored four runs
. He returned to the International League in 1954 and played five more seasons of Triple-A baseball until his 1958 retirement.
In 2016 Watlington received France's Legion of Honour medal for his combat services to help liberate that nation during World War II.[2]
References
- ^ "Those Who Served A to Z – Baseball in Wartime". BaseballinWartime.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ Thibodeau, Denice (June 19, 2016). "Veteran awarded French Legion of Honor medal". Retrieved January 8, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
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