Joseph Edward Becker (June 25, 1908 – January 11, 1998) was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

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 in 40 games for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in 1936–37. He was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Becker started his professional career in the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

minor league system, and played for various clubs between 1930 and 1933. After not playing in 1934, he spent 1935 with the San Francisco Seals. He was then picked up by the

, and played for them for two seasons. In his major league career, he played in 40 games and had a .241

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 ...

. His 20 hits included five doubles, two triples, and 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 ...

, which came against Jim Henry of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

on June 2, 1936. He was credited with 13

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

Manager and pitching coach

Jack Kent Cooke with baseball player in Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club dugout, Maple Leaf Stadium

After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 ...

, Becker managed 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 No ...

from 1946–54, including stints with the Triple-A

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Jersey City Giants {{about, the baseball team, the football team, American Association (American football) The Jersey City Giants was the name of a high-level American minor league baseball franchise that played in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the top farm system affi ...

and

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...

. Between 1955 and 1970, Becker was a pitching coach in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1955–64),

(1965–66) and Chicago Cubs (1967–70). A member of the relatively small fraternity of former catchers who became celebrated throughout baseball as pitching coaches (which included men such as

Ray Berres Raymond Frederick Berres (August 31, 1907 – February 1, 2007) was an American professional baseball catcher and pitching coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bees / Braves and New ...

, Dave Duncan, Rube Walker and Mike Roarke), Becker worked for four NL championship Dodger clubs, including the 1955,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

world champions. He also doubled as the Dodgers' first-base coach during the early 1960s. Becker's coaching career ended in August 1970, when he was felled by a heart ailment while in uniform for the Cubs at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

, forcing his retirement at age 62.Newspaper article

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

, 1970-8-13 He survived his 1970 illness, and died on January 11, 1998, at age 89 in Sunset Hills, Missouri.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Joe 1908 births 1998 deaths Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Baseball coaches from Missouri Baseball players from St. Louis Brooklyn Dodgers coaches Chicago Cubs coaches Cleveland Indians players Danville Veterans players Denver Bears players Des Moines Demons players Elmira Colonels players Elmira Red Wings players Indianapolis Indians players Jersey City Giants players Keokuk Indians players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball pitching coaches Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Montreal Royals players St. Louis Cardinals coaches San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Seaford Eagles players Sioux City Soos players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers United States Navy personnel of World War II