Ralph Foster "Cy" Perkins (February 27, 1896 – October 2, 1963) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

, coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 and manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. Perkins batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

.

Perkins served as a catcher with the Philadelphia Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 (1915, 1917–30), New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 (1931) and Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 (1934). He was the starting catcher for Philadelphia until Mickey Cochrane

Mickey Cochrane

Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...

 joined the team in 1925

1925 in baseball

-Champions:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Washington Senators *Negro League World Series: Hilldale Daisies over Kansas City Monarchs -Awards and honors:*League Award** Roger Peckinpaugh, Washington Senators, SS** Rogers Hornsby, St...

. After that Perkins served as a backup, being hailed as the man who taught Cochrane to catch without injuring his hands. He also was a member of the Athletics' World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 champion teams in 1929

1929 World Series

In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games.The famous "Mack Attack" occurred in 1929, named for manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4...

 and 1930

1930 World Series

In the 1930 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games, 4–2. Philadelphia's pitching ace Lefty Grove won two games.The St...

.

In a 17-season career, Perkins was a .259 hitter

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 with 30 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 409 runs batted in from 1171 games played

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

.

Following his playing career, Perkins coached for 17 years in the major leagues, with the Yankees (1932–33), Tigers (1934–39) and Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 (1946–54). He worked with two World Series champions, the Yankees of 1932

1932 World Series

The 1932 World Series was played between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs , with the Yankees holding home field advantage. The Yankees swept the Cubs, four games to none...

 and the Tigers of 1935

1935 World Series

The 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in six games for their first championship in five Series appearances. They had lost in , , , and ....

, and for the Phillies' National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 champion team in 1950

1950 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...

. He also managed Detroit in 1937 (along with Cochrane and Del Baker

Del Baker

Delmer David Baker was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the 1940 Detroit Tigers to the American League pennant...

) and posted a 6-9 record.

Perkins died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, at age 67.

External links

• The Deadball Era - obituary
• The Virtual Card Collection