Ellis Clary (September 11, 1916 – June 2, 2000), nicknamed "Cat", was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and scout. Born in

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg). He played in the Major Leagues during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when the talent pool was depleted due to the military draft. Clary's pro playing career stretched over 19 seasons (1935–53). He made his MLB debut with the Washington Senators in 1942, and he hit .275 in 240 at-bats as an infielder. In 1943, he was traded during the season to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

, where he became a reserve player. He was a member of St. Louis' only

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

championship team, the 1944 Browns. In 1945, Clary batted just .211. Despite his own poor performance, he blamed the team's struggles on one-armed

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Pete Gray Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

. Clary was sent down to the minor league

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

in 1946. His career big league

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

was .263 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 46 RBI in 223 games. Following his playing career, Clary was a

for the Senators for six seasons (1955–60), and then switched to scouting when the team relocated to Minneapolis–St. Paul. He scouted for the

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

for 24 years, then worked for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

as a special assignment scout until his 1993 retirement. Clary is a member of the Valdosta/Lowndes County (Ga.) Sports Hall of Fame, the Charlotte Sports Hall of Fame, and the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...

.Historic Baseball – Ellis Clary
/ref> He died in Valdosta at age 83.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clary, Ellis 1916 births 2000 deaths Americus Cardinals players Atlanta Crackers players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago White Sox scouts Greenville Spinners players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball scouts Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Minnesota Twins scouts Sportspeople from Valdosta, Georgia St. Louis Browns players Sanford Lookouts players Springfield Nationals players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays scouts Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players