Raymond Kirwin Foley (June 23, 1906 – March 22, 1980) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player who appeared in two games for the 1928 New York Giants of

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), ...

(MLB). Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Biography

Foley attended

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He played on each sport's freshman team, then was on the varsity of each squad for three years, earning a total of nine

varsity letters A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

; during his senior year, he was the captain of the football and baseball teams. An

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 cat ...

on the baseball team, he was signed 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 June 1928, the same month that he graduated. Foley played in two games for the Giants during the 1928 season, his only major league appearances. His first appearance was on July 4, in the first game of a home doubleheader against the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with Brooklyn leading, 7–1, Foley

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

for pitcher

Tiny Chaplin James Bailey Chaplin (July 13, 1905 – March 25, 1939), nicknamed Tiny Chaplin, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher. He played four seasons with the New York Giants (1928, 19 ...

. With a runner on first base and no outs, Foley struck out facing Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance. Foley did not play defensively, as he was replaced by pitcher

Dutch Henry Frank John "Dutch" Henry (May 12, 1902 – August 23, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Robins, New York Giants and Chicago White Sox between 1921 and 1930. Henry batted and threw left handed. ...

. On July 18, the Giants released Foley in order to add rookie pitcher

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...

to their roster. When Foley re-joined the Giants is unclear, as he made a second appearance on September 10, in the second game of a road doubleheader versus the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

. In the top of the seventh inning, with the Giants leading, 7–0, Foley again pinch hit, this time for catcher

Shanty Hogan James Francis "Shanty" Hogan (March 21, 1906 – April 7, 1967) was an American professional baseball player.walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

against Braves' pitcher

Foster Edwards Foster Hamilton "Eddie" Edwards (September 1, 1903 – January 4, 1980) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 56 games in Major League Baseball, 54 for the Boston Braves (1925–28) and two for the New York Yankees (193 ...

, loading the bases. Foley advanced to second base on a ground out, then scored on a single. He again did not play defensively, as he was replaced by catcher

Bob O'Farrell Robert Arthur O'Farrell (October 19, 1896 – February 20, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for 21 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the New Yo ...

. In January 1929, the Giants sent Foley to the

minor league 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 ...

Bridgeport Bears of the Eastern League. However, Foley does not appear in the statistical summary of Bridgeport's 1929 season. By October 1940, Foley was married and working for the

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in his hometown of Naugatuck, Connecticut. He was inducted to the athletics hall of fame at Catholic University in 1977. Foley died in March 1980 in Vero Beach, Florida, and was interred in Naugatuck. He was survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.

Notes

Minor league experience is absent from Foley's summary at

Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

. While that site has two entries of "Ray Foley" minor league statistics, those records include professional games during 1926 and 1927, when Foley was still playing for Catholic University.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Ray 1906 births 1980 deaths Catholic University Cardinals baseball players Catholic University Cardinals football players Catholic University Cardinals men's basketball players New York Giants (baseball) players People from Naugatuck, Connecticut Baseball players from New Haven County, Connecticut