Julius Neal Watlington (December 25, 1922 – December 29, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball player for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

in 1953. Born in Yanceyville, North Carolina, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he was listed as tall and . Watlington broke into professional baseball in the minor leagues in 1941, then missed five seasons (1942–46). He served in the United States Army in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

during World War II, where he received a Purple Heart during his service and was 24 years old when he was signed as a free agent by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in 1947. Primarily a catcher, Watlington was acquired by Philadelphia in February 1952 when the Athletics took over as parent team of the Triple-A Ottawa Giants of the

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

. The Athletics recalled Watlington from Ottawa in the midsummer of 1953, and he appeared in 21

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

for them through the remainder of the American League season. He started seven games at catcher, served as a defensive replacement in one contest, and was a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in 13 others. Watlington's 47

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s produced seven

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, including one double, and three

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. He scored four runs. He returned to the International League in 1954 and played five more seasons of Triple-A baseball until his 1958 retirement. In 2016 Watlington received France's Legion of Honour medal for his combat services to help liberate that nation during World War II.

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1922 births 2019 deaths Baseball players from North Carolina Danville Leafs players Jersey City Giants players Knoxville Smokies players Major League Baseball catchers Mayodan Millers players Military personnel from North Carolina Ottawa A's players Ottawa Giants players People from Yanceyville, North Carolina Philadelphia Athletics players Recipients of the Legion of Honour Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-baseball-catcher-1920s-stub