Ed Bailey

Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through .

Born in Strawberry Plains in Jefferson County, Tennessee, Bailey batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was listed as tall and . A younger brother, Jim, was a left-handed pitcher who had a brief big-league trial as Ed's teammate on the 1959 Cincinnati Reds.

Major League career Ed Bailey signed with the Reds in 1950 as an amateur free agent. He reached the Majors in 1953 and in 1955 he was given a chance as the Redlegs' (the Cincinnati team's nickname from 1953 to 1958) starting catcher, replacing Andy Seminick. When his offensive production floundered, the Redlegs traded Seminick for catcher Smoky Burgess and Bailey was sent down to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League. His hitting performance earned him a place as the starting catcher for the National League in the 1956 All-Star Game. The Redlegs stayed in the pennant race until the last day of the season, ending up with a 91–63 record, two games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. Bailey earned his second consecutive start for the National League All-Star Team, led National League catchers with a 46.2 Caught Stealing percentage and finished second to Roy Campanella with a .992 fielding percentage. He remained as the Reds' starting catcher for the rest of the 1950s up until 12 games into the 1961 season, when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for second baseman Don Blasingame and catcher Bob Schmidt.

In 1962, Bailey platooned with catcher Tom Haller, as the two players—both left-handed hitters—combined to give the Giants 35 home runs and 100 runs batted in from the catcher's position. In June of that year, Bailey had a streak of 3 clutch home runs in four games that propelled the Giants into first place. The Giants battled the Los Angeles Dodgers in a tight pennant race as the two teams ended the season tied for first place and met in the 1962 National League tie-breaker series. The Giants won the three-game series to clinch the National League championship. Bailey appeared in six games of the 1962 World Series, hitting a home run in Game 3 as the Giants lost to the New York Yankees in seven games. He had another strong year in 1963, hitting 21 home runs with 68 runs batted in, earning his fifth and final All-Star berth.

In December 1963, Bailey was traded along with Felipe Alou and Billy Hoeft to the Milwaukee Braves for Del Crandall, Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw. After the season, he was traded to the California Angels and was released after appearing in only five games of the 1966 season. His younger brother, pitcher Jim Bailey, also played in the Major Leagues. When his brother joined the Reds in 1959, the Bailey brothers became one of the few brother-batteries in Major League history.

In between, Bailey guided both the Lácteos de Pastora and Industriales de Valencia to Venezuela League championship titles, and later played with them in the Caribbean Series tournament in 1954 and 1956, respectively.

1957 All-Star Game ballot stuffing controversy In , Bailey and six of his Redleg teammates—Roy McMillan, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Frank Robinson—were voted into the National League All-Star starting lineup, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Major League Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick intervened, removing Bell and Post from the starting line up and replacing them with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Frick allowed Bell to remain on the team as a reserve while Post was removed from the team altogether. The Commissioner also transferred the responsibility for All-Star voting to the players, managers and coaches the following year.

Later life Bailey later served for 12 years on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council from 1983 to 1995 and, worked for United States Congressman Jimmy Duncan.

Highlights Made the National League All-Star team in 1956–57, 1960–61, and 1963. Had eight pinch-hit homers, including two grand slams. Hit a two-run homer in Game 3 of the 1962 World Series. Collected eight RBI in a 1965 game. Made two unassisted double plays in 1963 and 1965. Caught Juan Marichal's no-hitter on June 15, 1963.