Ray Mueller
| Ray Mueller | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: March 8, 1912 Pittsburg, Kansas |
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Died: June 29, 1994 (aged 82) Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 11, 1935, for the Boston Braves | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 9, 1951, for the Boston Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .252 | ||
| Home runs | 56 | ||
| Runs batted in | 373 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Ray Coleman Mueller (March 8, 1912 – June 29, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1944 and 1946 to 1951. Nicknamed "Iron Man", Mueller was the starting catcher in every game the Cincinnati Reds played — 155 — during the wartime 1944 season. Mueller caught a National League-record 233 consecutive games in 1943–1944 and 1946.
The native of Pittsburg, Kansas, was a first cousin of MLB infielder Don Gutteridge. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). During a 14-year Major League career, Mueller played for the Reds, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants. After his playing career, Mueller managed in minor league baseball and coached in the Majors for the Giants (1956), Chicago Cubs (1957) and Cleveland Indians (1966).
But he became best known as the everyday catcher of the 1944 Reds. In 1943, Mueller had warmed up for his iron-man role by catching in 141 games for Cincinnati, including every game from July 31 through the end of the campaign. Then, in 1944, he caught in every Red game — 155, including an official contest that was ruled a tie. While he did not catch every inning for the 1944 Reds (backups Len Rice, Joe Just and Johnny Riddle handled 17 total chances), Mueller caught 140 complete games and 1,329 2⁄3 innings; he handled 545 chances, threw out 39 percent of would-be base-stealers, and batted a career-high .286 with ten home runs and 73 runs batted in. He was named to the National League All-Star team and caught Clyde Shoun's no-hitter against Boston on May 15, 1944.
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