Leon McFadden (born April 26, 1944) is a former right-handed

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), ...

shortstop and outfielder who played from to for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He also played one season in Japan for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

, in .

Career

Prior to playing professional baseball, McFadden attended Fremont High School in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, with future professional players

Brock Davis Bryshear Barnett "Brock" Davis (born October 19, 1943) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder whose professional career, including minor league service, lasted for 13 seasons (1963–1975). Davis was born in Oakland, California an ...

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was a professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977) of Major ...

Bobby Tolan Robert Tolan (born November 19, 1945) is an American former professional baseball center fielder / right fielder, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (–), Cincinnati Reds (–), San Diego Padres (–, ...

, and

Bob Watson Robert José Watson (April 10, 1946May 14, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, coach and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from 1966 to 1984, most prominently as a member of ...

. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

in , the , 195 pound McFadden made his Major League debut on September 6, 1968 against Pat Jarvis and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. In his only at-bat of the game, McFadden collected a base hit. Overall, McFadden appeared in 16 games for the Astros in 1968, collecting 13 hits in 47 at-bats for a .277 batting average. He scored twice and drove in one run. McFadden was used as a bench player in 1969, playing in 44 games and getting only 74 at-bats. He collected only 13 hits for a .176 batting average. In 1970, he appeared in two games as a pinch runner. He appeared in his final big league game on April 28 of that year, when he ran for Watson. Two month later, he was traded with Jim Beauchamp to 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 ...

for

George Culver George Raymond Culver (born July 8, 1943), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Ph ...

. However, he never played in a Cardinals uniform. Overall, McFadden appeared in 62 big league games, collecting 26 hits in 121 at-bats for a .215 batting average. He hit three doubles, no triples and no home runs, scored five times and drove in four runs. He stole two bases, was caught twice, walked 10 times and struck out 19 times. His career

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 ...

was .962. In 54 games with the

in 1972, McFadden batted .283, with two home runs and six RBI.

Personal life

His son, Leon McFadden, is a current

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the NFL and played his college career at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

External links

Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Leon 1944 births Living people African-American baseball players Amarillo Sonics players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Arkansas Broncos de Reynosa players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cocoa Astros players Durham Bulls players Florida Instructional League Astros/Reds players Hanshin Tigers players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball shortstops Modesto Colts players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma City 89ers players Salisbury Astros players Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Tacoma Cubs players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players John C. Fremont High School alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople