David George Adlesh (July 15, 1943 – February 15, 2016) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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from 1963 to 1968. He played his entire major league career with the Houston Colt .45's/Astros. Adlesh threw and batted right-handed. Adlesh was signed as an amateur free agent by the Houston Colt .45's in 1962 out of St. Anthony High School (California). The Colt .45's thought highly enough of Adlesh's defensive skills that they brought him to the major leagues almost at once, with Adlesh appearing in his first game on May 12 of that year. He went 0 for 8 as a hitter in his brief stint and was soon shipped to the minor leagues. Adlesh split his time between the minors and Houston every year from 1963 to 1966. On June 18, 1967, Adlesh caught the first of Don Wilson's two career

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s. When Adlesh's major league days were over, he had a career batting average of .168, with a slugging percentage of .199, and one career home run. His strikeouts (80) were nearly the double number of his career hits (43). Adlesh died February 15, 2016, after a long battle with cancer.

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1943 births 2016 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Houston Astros players Hawaii Islanders players Durham Bulls players San Antonio Bullets players Oklahoma City 89ers players Amarillo Sonics players Richmond Braves players Baseball players from Long Beach, California {{US-baseball-catcher-1940s-stub