Cy Perkins

Who was Cy Perkins?

Ralph Foster "Cy" Perkins was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. Perkins batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Perkins served as a catcher with the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers. He was the starting catcher for Philadelphia until Mickey Cochrane joined the team in 1925. After that Perkins served as a backup, being hailed as the man who taught Cochrane to catch without injuring his hands. He also was a member of the Athletics' World Series champion teams in 1929 and 1930.

In a 17-season career, Perkins was a .259 hitter with 30 home runs and 409 runs batted in from 1171 games played.

Following his playing career, Perkins coached for 17 years in the major leagues, with the Yankees, Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. He worked with two World Series champions, the Yankees of 1932 and the Tigers of 1935, and for the Phillies' National League champion team in 1950. He also managed Detroit in 1937 and posted a 6-9 record.

Perkins died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age 67.