Ivoria Hillis Layne (February 23, 1918 – January 12, 2010) was an American

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the Washington Senators in parts of three seasons spanning 1941–1945. Listed at 6' 0", 170 lb., he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born in

Whitwell, Tennessee Whitwell is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States, approximately 24 miles northwest of Chattanooga. The population was 1,641 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The to ...

, Layne was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by a stint in the army during World War II. Signed by the legendary

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Joe Engel :''This is an article about the baseball player Joe Engel. For the astronaut, see Joe Engle.'' Joseph William Engel (March 12, 1893 – June 12, 1969) was an American left-handed pitcher and scout in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his en ...

to play for the Senators organization, Layne played for the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

before being called up to the big team in September 1941. Overall, he spent 37 years in professional baseball, including 17 in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

, while losing 2¾ years to the Military (1942–1944) . After being discharged from military service, he played in parts of the 1944 and 1945 seasons. In a three-season career, Layne was a .264 hitter (75-for-284) 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 28 RBI in 107 games, including 37 runs, nine doubles, four

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, three

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, and a .321

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. Following his majors career, Layne led the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

hitters in 1947 with a .367 average. Then, from 1955 through 1958 he served as a player/

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

for the

Lewiston Broncs {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Lewiston Broncs , firstseason =1921 , lastseason =1974 , allyears =1921, 1937, 1939, 1952–1974 , city =Lewiston, Idaho , logo = , caplogo = , past class level =Short-season ...

of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

, winning the batting title in 1955 (.391) while ending second in both 1956 (.354) and 1957 (.340). In four NWL seasons, he collected a .362 average with a .468 OBP and led the league's third basemen in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

during three consecutive seasons (1955–1957). In 1,796 minor league games, he hit .335 with 83 home runs and 953 RBI. He later scouted for the Texas Rangers. In 1987, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Layne died January 12, 2010, of a heart attack suffered two days earlier. He is interred at

Chattanooga National Cemetery Chattanooga National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near the center of the city of Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as o ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

References

External links

Baseball Reference – major league profileBaseball Reference – minor league careerBaseball in WartimeTennessee Sports Hall of FameObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Layne, Hillis 1918 births 2010 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Americus Cardinals players Anderson Rebels players Baseball players from Tennessee Chattanooga Lookouts players Kansas City Athletics scouts Lewiston Broncs players Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers New York Mets scouts People from Whitwell, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Chattanooga metropolitan area Pine Bluff Judges players Portland Beavers players San Angelo Colts players San Antonio Missions players Sanford Lookouts players Seattle Rainiers players Selma Cloverleafs players Texas Rangers scouts Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) scouts