Ronald Baxter Henry (August 7, 1936 – May 14, 2016) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. He was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who spent one full season (1961) and part of another (1964) in

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), ...

as a member of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. Born in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed . Henry's career lasted for 15 seasons (1954–68). The first seven were spent in the

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the

Milwaukee 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

. He was chosen in the 1960 Rule 5 draft after

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.310 for the

Austin Senators The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888–1890, 1905, ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, and spent the entire 1961 campaign with the Twins in their first season in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

. He was the club's third-string catcher (behind

Earl Battey Earl Jesse Battey, Jr. (January 5, 1935 – November 15, 2003) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1955–1959) and Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1960� ...

and

Hal Naragon Harold Richard Naragon (October 1, 1928 – August 31, 2019) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1951; 1954–59) and Washington Senators/ Minnesota Twins (1959–62). He batted left-handed and threw rig ...

) and played in only 20

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 ...

, 14 as 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 ...

. Henry batted only .143 with four

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 ...

, then spent the next 2 seasons 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 ...

until his recall to Minnesota in June 1964. With Battey, a five-time

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

All-Star, still entrenched as the Twins' regular receiver, Henry's opportunities again were limited. He appeared in 22 games, 13 as a catcher, and logged 41

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. He hit his only two Major League

home runs 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 ...

, off Don Lee and

Dave Vineyard David Kent Vineyard (born February 25, 1941) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Baltimore Orioles during the season. Listed at , , Vineyard batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Clay, West V ...

, but made only three other hits. Altogether, Henry appeared in 42 MLB games, with nine hits in 69 at bats. He resumed his minor league playing career in 1965. Henry died on May 14, 2016, aged 79, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, of

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

and

end stage renal disease Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Ron 1936 births 2016 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua Austin Senators players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boise Pilots players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chester High School alumni Corpus Christi Clippers players Dallas Rangers players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Denver Bears players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania Topeka Hawks players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players Wellsville Braves players Wichita Braves players