Clint Courtney
Clinton Dawson Courtney, nicknamed "Scrap Iron", was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Kansas City Athletics. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Courtney was born in Louisiana, growing up there and in Arkansas. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he was signed as a catcher by the New York Yankees. Playing minor league baseball for them for the next few seasons, he was involved in several fights. After one game with the Yankees in 1951, he was traded to the Browns in 1952 at the urging of Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis's manager. Courtney won The Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year, batting.286. Both that season and the next, he was involved in on-the-field fights with Billy Martin, whom he had battled in the minor leagues several seasons before. Courtney remained the starting catcher for the Browns when they moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the Orioles. Then, he was traded to the White Sox.
Used as the backup to Sherm Lollar by Chicago, Courtney only lasted half a season with the White Sox before he was traded to the Senators. He finished out the 1955 season with Washington and spent the next four years there, appearing in a career-high 134 games for the ballclub in 1958. Injuries afflicted him in 1959, and he was traded back to Baltimore for the 1960 season, where he became the first catcher to wear an oversized mitt while catching knuckleball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm. Traded to Kansas City for 1961, he was returned to Baltimore after playing one game for the Athletics. Accepting an assignment to the minor leagues halfway through the 1961 season, he played minor league ball for the next few seasons, following Oriole manager Paul Richards into the Houston Colt.45's organization.
Once his playing career ended, Courtney managed in the minor leagues, first in Houston's organization, and then for affiliates of the Atlanta Braves. He hoped to be a major league manager one day and came close to being named Atlanta's manager in 1974, though the team settled on Clyde King instead. However, while serving as the manager of the Richmond Braves in 1975, Courtney died of a heart attack while on a road trip with the team.
Early life
Clinton Dawson Courtney was born on March 16, 1927, in Hall Summit, a village in tiny Red River Parish, Louisiana. His parents, C.D. and Ethel Murray Courtney, divorced when Clint was about three or four. Courtney had a sister named Fleta, as well as two stepsisters, Cecil and Jo, from his father's remarriage to Gladys Woods.The Courtneys did not have much money. "I was so poor as a boy, my shoes were so bad that I could step on a dime and tell you if it was heads or tails," Courtney recalled in 1958. The Courtneys lived in Louisiana until Clint had completed the eighth grade, at which point they moved to Arkansas so C.D. could get a job in the oilfields. Clint attended Standard-Ulmstead High School in Smackover, where he garnered All-State recognition playing for the basketball team. He had also played baseball since his days in Halls Summit. After graduating, he joined his father working in the Smackover oilfields. He then moved to Orange, Texas, where he worked as a shipyard welder.
In 1944, Courtney was drafted by the United States Army to serve in World War II. He served initially at Fort Robinson and Fort Chaffee, playing with the latter's baseball team at the 1945 National Baseball Congress. After that, he served as part of the occupation forces in Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. Courtney continued to play baseball with service teams. Originally an outfielder, he started playing catcher during his army years. To better accomplish the position change, the left-handed Courtney taught himself to throw right-handed, which would make it easier to make a play to first base. Courtney still batted left-handed. He was discharged from the Army in 1947.
Playing career
Early minor league career
Soon after his 1947 discharge, Courtney was signed to play for the New York Yankees by scout Atley Donald, another Louisiana native. He began his career with the Beaumont Exporters of the Class AA Texas League, playing four games before being assigned to the Bisbee Yanks of the Class C Arizona-Texas League. In a game against the Phoenix Senators, Courtney slid hard into second base, spiking and breaking player-manager Arky Biggs's hand. This started a small fight between the teams. Senator Billy Martin swore to target Courtney in future games whenever he got the chance. In 114 games for Bisbee, Courtney batted.319 with 71 runs scored, 136 hits, five home runs, and 80 runs batted in.According to Rory Costello of the Society for American Baseball Research, Courtney began the 1948 season with Beaumont before being sent down to the Augusta Tigers of the Class A South Atlantic League in late April. Statistics of his time for Beaumont are not available, but in 64 games with Augusta, he batted.250 with 21 runs scored, 47 hits, 0 home runs, and 25 RBI. In July, Augusta sent him to another Yankee affiliate, the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League. Courtney batted.229 with 22 hits and 1 home run in 29 games for the Tars.
Courtney split 1949 between two Class B teams, Norfolk and the Manchester Yankees of the New England League. In 58 games for Manchester, he batted.349 with 33 runs scored, 73 hits, 5 home runs, and 32 RBI. For Norfolk he played 48 games, batting.243 with 24 runs scored, 41 hits, 5 home runs, and 24 RBI. Over the 1949–50 offseason, Courtney played winter ball with the Guaymas Ostioneros of the Mexican Winter League, leading the league with a.371 average while also serving as the team's manager.
Back with Beaumont in 1950, Courtney was one of two players unanimously selected to the league's All-Star team. He made a positive impression on manager Rogers Hornsby, who would also manage him with the Ponce Leones in the Puerto Rican Winter League over the offseason. In 146 games, Courtney batted.263 with 137 hits, four home runs, and 79 RBI. In winter ball over the offseason, Courtney was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game.
Invited to spring training by the Yankees in 1951, Courtney made the team's Opening Day roster. However, shortly after the season started, he was sent down to the Kansas City Blues of the Class AAA American Association without having played. He served as Kansas City's starting catcher, playing well but drawing attention for conflicts during the year. Against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 25, he led with his elbow when sliding into second base, knocking out Johnny Logan's front teeth. Later in the season, when Kansas City played the St. Paul Saints, Courtney had a fight with Danny Ozark. He was suspended indefinitely and fined $100 after a September 3 game when he spat twice in the face of umpire John Fette and struck him with his baseball bat. In 105 games with Kansas City, Courtney batted.294 with 34 runs scored, 101 hits, eight home runs, and 35 RBI.
Major league career
MLB debut and trade to Browns (1951)
Despite his suspension, Courtney was called up by the Yankees in late September 1951. He made his major league debut on September 29, starting behind the plate for the second game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. He was hitless in two at bats, though he did reach base in the sixth inning when he was hit by a pitch from Mickey McDermott. New York won 3–1. Courtney did not play any other major league games in 1951. With his debut, Courtney likely became the first MLB catcher to wear eyeglasses during a game. He had been wearing them since either his time in the military or his time in the minor leagues because he was myopic, a condition that probably resulted from his time as a welder. Courtney would use tape to keep the frames on his head as the glasses sat underneath the catcher's mask. He wore ones with shatter-proof lenses, but due to the rough nature of his position, he had broken about a dozen pairs by 1958.After the season, on November 23, Courtney was traded to the St. Louis Browns. Yankee general manager George Weiss disliked the catcher for his on-the-field incidents. Courtney's teammate Gil McDougald thought another reason for the trade was that Martin, now in the majors with the Yankees, could not stand Courtney. Meanwhile, Hornsby, who had just been named St. Louis's manager, was excited to acquire one of his favorite players from Beaumont for his team. Four days after acquiring Courtney, the Browns traded Sherm Lollar to the White Sox, paving the way for Courtney to be their starting catcher in 1952. Baseball historian Frank Russo wrote, "In restrospect, Courtney's trade to St. Louis was the best thing that could have happened to his career."
Rookie season (1952)
Towards the end of 1952 spring training, Courtney tripped and fell during a foot race against sportswriter Milton Richman in a railway yard, and the broken glass and rocks in the yard resulted in a number of cuts. Despite the mishap, he played the next day's exhibition game covered in bandages, getting three hits against Early Wynn. Either teammate Duane Pillette or Browns announcer Buddy Blattner dubbed him "Scrap Iron", a nickname that would stick with him throughout his career and would well describe the tough, confrontational Courtney.Courtney was the Opening Day starting catcher for the Browns. In the fourth game of the year, he had his first major league hit, a triple with the bases loaded against Bob Kennedy, helping the Browns defeat the Chicago White Sox 7–1. On May 6, he hit his first major league home run, a go-ahead, two-run blast against Bob Hooper as St. Louis beat the Philadelphia Athletics 5–1. Courtney missed 16 games from June 13 through June 28 after discovering a split finger on his right hand during a game against the Boston Red Sox on June 12. On July 12, in the second inning of a game against the Yankees, Courtney spiked Martin when he slid into second. When Courtney attempted the play again in the eighth inning, Martin hit him with the hand that had been holding the baseball. Courtney got up and tried to retaliate, which resulted in a shower of punches from Martin. A brawl ensued, during which umpire Bill Summers was knocked to the ground with a punch. Courtney was ejected from the game, but Summers allowed Martin to stay in because he thought Martin had merely been defending himself. The Yankees won 5–4 in extra innings, and Courtney was suspended three games and fined $100. He had a game-ending RBI in painful fashion on September 9, getting hit by a pitch by Ray Scarborough with the bases loaded to force in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, as the Browns defeated the Yankees 5–4.
In 119 games as a rookie, Courtney batted.286 with 38 runs scored, 118 hits, 5 home runs, and 50 RBI. His.996 fielding percentage led American League catchers. He finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Harry Byrd, also ranking 24th in AL Most Valuable Player voting. Courtney also won The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year award. Oscar Fraley of United Press International wrote that Courtney was "a rarity in succeeding as a freshman catcher."