• In the 1870's New York Mutuals catcher Nat Hicks started creeping closer to batters. Before him, catchers stood far behind the hitters, fielding pitches on the bounce.
• The very first catcher to throw a runner out trying to steal second was Bill Lennon, who did it in the very first major league game (7th inning) on May 4, 1871.
• In 1872, baseball's official rules stated that home plate must be made of white marble or stone. OUCH
• In 1877 Harvard baseball captain Fred Thayer adapted a fencer's mask to be used by catchers, but it wasn't until 1890 that major leaguers accepted the screened-in luxury.
• Moses Fleetwood Walker, a catcher for the 1884 Toledo American Association club, became the very first black player in major league baseball.
• In 1885 catchers (and umpires) first used chest protectors.
• Cincinnati catcher Jack Boyle was involved in the very first trade ever when the St. Louis Browns traded outfielder Hugh Nicol to Cincinnati for Boyle and $350 on November 12, 1886.
• In 1887 Charles Zimmer is the first catcher to play consistently behind the batter (2-3 feet).
• In 1887 Draper and Maynard was the first company to market a glove specifically for catchers.
• Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan introduces the shin guard in 1907.
• On June 28, 1907 Yankee catcher Branch Rickey is the victim as the Washington Senators steal 13 bases in one game, an AL record that still stands
• White Sox catcher Fred Payne had several teeth knocked out in a game on August 18, 1911 against Philadelphia and was forced to leave the game after being hit in the face by a foul ball being returned from the grandstand. Give that fan a contract.
• On August 3, 1914 Les Nunamaker, Yankees catcher, becomes the only player in the twentieth century to gun down three runners attempting to steal in one inning.
• On July 19, 1915, the Washington Senators stole eight bases in one inning against Cleveland catcher Steve O'Neil.
• Herold "Muddy" Ruel was credited with labeling catching equipment as "Tools of Ignorance", although some say it was Bill Dickey - the debate continues to this day.
• On September 8, 1916 Philadelphia A's catcher Wally Schang became the first player in major league history to hit a home run batting right-handed and left-handed in the same game.
• Boston Braves' catcher Hank Gowdy is the first player to enter World War I on June 27, 1917.
• On October 1, 1921 Ray Schalk (Chicago White Sox) is the first and only catcher to make a putout at every single base.
• Ray Schalk of the Chicago White Sox caught his fourth no-hitter on April 30, 1922, which is still the record for catchers. This fourth no-hitter was a Perfect Game tossed by pitcher Charlie Robertson who beat Detroit 2-0.
• On June 9, 1922 the Courtesy Runner rule was invoked in the Yankees - White Sox game. In the top of the 6th, Wally Schang singled to short and was hurt sliding into 1B. He was carried off the field and replaced with Al DeVormer. The next batter ended the inning. As the bottom of the inning started, Schang returned to his catching duties. In the top of the 8th, DeVormer again ran for Schang, but this time he stayed in the game behind the plate.
• A piece of catcher's equipment played a major role in deciding the outcome of the final game of one of the most exciting World Series ever. On October 10, 1924, in the bottom of the 12th, with the scre tied at 3-3 and one out, Washington catcher Muddy Ruel lifted a high pop foul which should have been an easy out. However, his catching opponent Hank Gowdy of the Giants stepped into his own mask, stumbled and was unable to make the catch. Ruel then doubled and eventually scored the winning run. (Contributed by Chuck Carey SABR member from Alan Roth Chapter in Los Angeles).
• Bubbles Hargrave (Cin) became the first catcher ever to win a Batting Title when he posted an average of .353 in 1926, the best in the National League.
• In 1941 Mickey Owen dropped the third strike that blew the World Series for the Dodgers.
• Ernie Lombardi (Bos) won his 2nd National League Batting Title with a .330 average. His first came with Cincinnati in 1938 when he hit .342.
• On October 2, 1947 the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history was slugged by Yogi Berra for the Yankees.
• On September 23, 1950, Philadelphia's reserve catcher Joe Astroth knocked in a record-tying six runs in the sixth inning of a 16-5 win over Washington,
• Clint Courtney of the 1951 New York Yankees became the first catcher to wear eye glasses behind the plate.
• On September 21, 1952 Brooklyn catcher Roy Campanella hit the last homerun ever in Braves Field (Boston, MA).
• Joe Garagiola (1946-54) said "The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running."
• On May 27, 1960 Clint Courtney (Baltimore Orioles) is the first catcher to use the knuckleball big mitt.
• Other fielders were regulated on glove size in 1939, but as late as 1965 baseball was still ruling on the types of mitts catchers could use.
• Cardinals receiver Tim "Buckethead" McCarver won a bit of respect for catchers everywhere in 1966. Catchers, who tend to not be very speedy, rarely stretch hits into triples. McCarver's 13 triples were an NL high, marking the first time a catcher had led a league in that department.
• On May 2, 1970 the Philadelphia Phillies set a record by using 3 catchers during one inning when regular backstop Tim McCarver and his backup Mike Ryan both broke their catching hands in the 6th inning against the Giants at Candlestick Park. Emergency catcher Jim Hutto was brought in which set the record.
• When Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium opened on April 10, 1971, the Phillies revamped the traditional "first pitch" ceremony. Catcher Mike Ryan received his pitch dropped from a helicopter above the field.
• Bill and Tom Haller on July 14, 1972 are the first brother umpire-catcher combo to be in the same game.
• On September 30, 1972 Oakland A's catcher Gene Tenance hit the last homerun ever in Municipal Stadium (Kansas City, MO).
• Carlton Fisk (Boston Red Sox) on November 21, 1972 is the first unanimous winner of the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League.
• On May 15, 1973, California Angels backup catcher Jeff Torborg catches the third no-hitter of his career. He previously backstopped gems for Bill Singer and Sandy Koufax while with the Dodgers. This one is a 3-0 blanking of Kansas City and the first no-hitter for teammate Nolan Ryan.
• On November 5, 1978, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen was involved in one of the strangest trades in history. Oakland A's manager Chuck Tanner was still under contract. To obtain the rights to hire Tanner, the Pirates traded Sanguillen and $100,000 to Oakland for their Manager Tanner.
• When asked to describe his career high point, Bob Uecker said, "I walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in an intrasquad game in spring training."
• Doug Gwosdz, a San Diego catcher between 1981-84, was given a nickname from his unusually spelled surname. Gwosdz was called "Eyechart."
• On July 28, 1991, Ron Hassey of Montreal caught his 2nd Perfect Game (2-0) tossed by Dennis Martinez against LA. Ron is the only catcher to have ever caught two perfect games. His first was on May, 15, 1981 when pitcher Len Barker of Cleveland beat Toronto 3-0.
• Greg Myers of the California Angels became the final strikeout victim (5,714th) of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan on September 17, 1993
• In 1994 Texas Rangers' Ivan Rodriguez became the first catcher (and 7th player overall) to win both the Silver Slugger and the Gold Glove awards in the same year.
• Sandy Alomar Jr. is the only player in Major League history to hit a home run in a regular season game, an All-Star game, a Division Series, a Championship Series and the World Series all in one season, which he did in 1997 [Tidbit provided by: Tom Cipolla]
• Through 1998, the only player to hit a home run in his first big league at-bat during the regular season and his first at-bat in an All-Star game was Twins catcher Terry Steinbach. Steinbach homered in his first at-bat on September 12, 1986 and in his first All-Star game at-bat on July 12, 1988.
• In 1997 Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza became the first catcher (and 25th player overall) to hit 40 homers and 200 hits in a season.
• On September 27, 1999 Detroit Tiger's catcher Robert Fick hit the last homerun ever (a Grand Slam) in Tiger (Briggs) Stadium (Detroit, MI). No catcher has ever hit the very first homerun in any ballpark.
• Ivan Rodriguez (TEX-A) was named A.L. MVP in November 1999; the runner-up in the voting was pitcher Pedro Martinez. This was the 5th time that a battery placed 1-2 in the voting and the 4th time that a catcher captured the prize in a 1-2 battery.
• Mike Piazza set a record on June 16, 2002 when his streak of 51 straight runners successfully stealing off the Mets catcher came to an end when he threw out Soriano.
• Minnesota Twins catcher, Joe Mauer, was the first catcher ever to win the American League Batting Championship with an average of .347 and only the third catcher to have won a Batting Crown (Bubbles Hargrave (1926 and Ernie Lombardi (1938 & 1942) won in the National League.
• On September 21, 2008 New York Yankees' catcher Jose Molina hit the last homerun ever at Old Yankee Stadium, 85 years after Babe Ruth hit the very first HR in the stadium's first season (1923).

Suicides, Murder, Untimely Deaths and Mayhem

• Of the 80 ballplayers who committed suicide, 13 percent were catchers, second only to pitchers (45 percent).
• Only one player, Willard Hershberger a Cincinnati Reds catcher, committed suicide during his playing season.
• 1891 Frank Gustav Bell shot to death in Cincinnati.
• 1895 William H. "Bill" Colgan killed in a train accident, while he was coupling railroad cars.
• 1895 Frank M. Bowes shot to death in New York City.
• 1900 Frederick Joseph Zahner drowned.
• 1900 Marty Bergen found dead by his father, Michael, nearly decapitated from a slash with a straight razor. Marty's wife and two children found dead nearby from multiple blows from an ax. Ruled a murder-suicide.
• 1901 Charles Snyder fractured his skull and died while he was being evicted from a hotel.
• 1901 James William Duncan downed.
• 1907 Nathaniel W. Hicks asphyxiated by gas in a hotel room.
• 1913 Jeremiah "Jerry" Peter Harrington stabbed to death while trying to break up a barroom brawl.
• 1921 Larry McLean shot dead by a Boston bartender. McLean was tallest catcher ever (6'5").
• 1923 Francis E. McManus shot dead in Syracuse, NY.
• 1924 William G. "Bill" Wilson, believed to be a member of organized crime who served two prison sentences, died on 5/9/1924 in St. Paul, MN from ten stab wounds to the chest and neck while trying to break up a robbery. It was said that it was a hit job to get rid of him.
• 1927 Drummond Nicoi Brown shot dead in Parkville, MO.
• 1945 Harry O'Neill killed in the battle of Iwo Jima. He caught one game for Philadelphia Athletics in 1939.
• 1956 Tommy Gastall drowned when his plane crashed into Chesapeake Bay. He was 22 y/o and played two seasons with Baltimore.
• 1979 Thurman Munson died in a plane crash while practicing landings in his new jet near Canton, Ohio.
• 1990 Bo Diaz was crushed to death by a satellite dish, which he was adjusting on the roof of his house in Caracas, Venezuela.

Whacky & Wild Records Involving Catchers

(from The Baseball Hall Of Shame's Warped Record Book by Bruce Nash & Allan Zullo)

• MOST HOME RUNS HIT OFF A LAUNDRY BUILDING IN ONE GAME (3) - In a 1950 game against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, Dodger catcher Roy Campanella had a spotless day at the plate by blasting three towering homes that all hit a laundry building across the street. In leading his team to a 7-5 victory, Campy had put Cincy hurler Ken Raffensberger through the wringer, and hung him out to dry.
• MOST BATTERS TO STRIKE OUT IN THEIR HALF OF AN INNING (5) - Houston Astros catcher Cliff Johnson was having all sorts of trouble catching the fluttering knuckleball of pitcher Joe Niekro during a 1976 spring training game against the Twins. That should have been good news for Minnesota, but Johnson's failure brought embarrassment because Niekro struck out the side - all five batters. Johnson committed five passed balls including two on third strikes that allowed both batters to reach first safely. By the time Johnson was able to hang on to a third strike in the inning, five Twins had whiffed.
• WACKIEST FINISH TO A HOME-RUN TROT - Boston Red Sox catcher Sammy White walloped a grand slam in 1952 against the St. Louis Browns to win the game 11-9. Thrilled beyond belief, White proudly trotted around the bases at Fenway Park, then capped off his four-bagger with a flourish. About 10 feet from home, he dropped to his hands and knees and slowly crept up to the plate. When he finally got there, the crazy catcher leaned over and kissed home!
• MOST CONSECUTIVE BALLS MISSED BY A CATCHER (23) - Chicago White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan missed 23 straight balls that were tossed by pitcher Ed Walsh. No wonder. Walsh was throwing them more than 500 feet straight down! On August 10, 1910 Walsh stood at a window near the top of the Washington Monument and began hurling baseballs to Sullivan on the ground below. Sullivan figured he'd easily snag most of the missiles, but a stiff wind kept whipping the balls away from him and he didn't even come close to catching a single one.
• MOST BASES GIVEN UP BY A CATCHER ON A PASSED BALL (3) - Giants catcher Ernie Lombardi who was very slow-footed, let a pitch get away for a passed ball in a 1943 game against the Pirates. While he lumbered after the ball, fleet-footed Vince DiMaggio, who was on first base, scampered to second then on to third when he saw that Lombardi had yet to retrive the ball. DiMaggio saw that home plate was not covered (the pitcher Bill Sayles was shocked into immobility) and figured he could crawl faster than Lombardi could run, so he dashed home scoring the winning run.
• MOST TIMES A CATCHER WAS CONKED ON THE HEAD DURING A GAME (3) - Cleveland Indians backstop Rollie Hemsley had a painful game in 1940 against the Philadelphia Athletics. A foul tip knocked him to the ground and momentarily seeing stars. Later A's batter Benny McCoy swung so hard that he spun completely around and his bat whacked Hemsley on the back of the head. The catcher went down again and barely regained his feet. He insisted on staying in the game. He was still woozy when another foul tip conked him on his already-bruised noggin. Once again he fell to the ground and forgot his name. Rollie shook off his third head-bonk and finished the game.

If you have interesting trivia you'd like included send me an email and I'll add it.