Ray Katt

Who was Ray Katt?

Raymond Frederick Katt was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball during the 1950s, and later the longtime and highly successful head baseball coach of Texas Lutheran University. A lifelong resident of New Braunfels, Texas, Katt stood 6 ft 2 in tall, weighed 200 pounds, and threw and batted right-handed in his playing days. He attended Texas A&M University.

Katt spent his entire Major League playing career with two teams, the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, spending two separate terms with each club. Katt originally signed with the Giants and after two brief trials with them in 1952–53, he became the club's semi-regular backstop during its final championship season in New York in 1954. Playing in 86 games, he split catching duties with veteran Wes Westrum, hitting .255 with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in.

That year, he set a Major League record with four passed balls in one inning, catching knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm.