Frank House

Who was Frank House?

Henry Franklin House, nicknamed "Pig," was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics and Cincinnati Reds. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

In a 10-season career, House posted a .248 batting average with 47 home runs and 235 RBI in 653 games. As a catcher, in 580 games he compiled a .988 fielding percentage with 2934 putouts, 258 assists, and only 34 errors in 2934 total chances.

A native of Bessemer, Alabama, House signed out of high school with the Tigers in 1948 for one of the biggest bonuses of the time – $75,000 and two automobiles, according to news reports. House made his debut in 1950 at 20 years of age. He earned his nickname as a baby, when his family used to say he was "big as a house" and he twisted "big" into "pig". As a player, he stood 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 190 pounds. His mother-in-law said the nickname came about when he came in very dirty from playing outside and his mother told him "you're dirty as a little pig, Frank."