Ralph Houk
| Ralph Houk | |||
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| Catcher / Manager | |||
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Born: August 9, 1919 Lawrence, Kansas |
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Died: July 21, 2010 (aged 90) Winter Haven, Florida |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 26, 1947, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 1, 1954, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .272 | ||
| Hits | 43 | ||
| Runs batted in | 20 | ||
| Managerial record | 1,619–1,531 | ||
| Winning % | .514 | ||
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As player As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
As player
As manager
Ralph George Houk (/ˈhaʊk/; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New York Yankees in 1961–63, when his teams won three consecutive American League pennants and the 1961 and 1962 World Series championships.
A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Houk was a catcher working his way through the Yankees' farm system when the U.S. entered World War II. He enlisted in the armed forces, became an Army Ranger, and rose to Major (the source of his Yankee nickname). He was a combat veteran of Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge, and was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and the Silver Star with oak leaf clusters.
Returning to baseball after the war, Houk eventually reached the Major Leagues, serving as the Yankees' second- and third-string catcher behind Yogi Berra. A right-handed hitter, Houk played in only 91 games over eight seasons (1947–54), finishing with a batting average of .272. Although the Yankees participated in six World Series during that period, Houk had only two Series at bats (one in 1947, the other in 1952), batting .500.
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