Walter Allen Blair (October 13, 1883 – August 20, 1948), nicknamed "Heavy", was an American

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), ...

player born in Landrus, Pennsylvania who, after attending

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...

, played as a backup

for the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

from through . He later got his chance to play regularly when played for the

Buffalo Buffeds/Blues The Buffalo Blues were a professional baseball club that played in the short-lived Federal League, which was a minor league in 1913 and a full-fledged outlaw major league the next two years. It was the last major league baseball team to be bas ...

of the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

during their only two seasons in and . It was for this team that he did appear as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

for two games, a doubleheader played on June 4, 1915, his team won one and lost one. Following his playing career he served as a baseball coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

and Bucknell University. He was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 1987. Walter died at the age of 64 in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...

, and was buried at the Lewisburg City Cemetery.

References

External links

* 1883 births 1948 deaths Baseball players from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball catchers New York Highlanders players Buffalo Buffeds players Buffalo Blues players Minor league baseball managers Corsicana Oil Citys players Paris Parasites players Ardmore Territorians players Temple Boll Weevils players Williamsport Millionaires players Newark Indians players Rochester Bronchos players Rochester Hustlers players Jersey City Skeeters players Bucknell Bison baseball coaches Pittsburgh Panthers baseball coaches Major League Baseball player-managers {{US-baseball-catcher-1880s-stub

See also

References

External links