Sam Narron

Who was Sam Narron?

Samuel Woody Narron was an American Major League Baseball player and coach. Born in Middlesex, North Carolina, Narron batted and threw right-handed; he stood 5 ft 10 in tall and weighed 180 pounds. He was the uncle of Major League catcher, coach and manager Jerry Narron and MLB coach Johnny Narron, and the grandfather of pitcher Sam Narron.

Narron spent almost his entire playing career in minor league baseball. Originally an outfielder, he led the Class D Georgia-Florida League in batting average with a .349 mark in 1936. The following year, he became a catcher and twice batted over .300 for the Rochester Red Wings of the AA International League.

In the Major Leagues, Narron appeared in parts of three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in 24 games and hitting .286 with one run batted in in just 28 at bats.

A protégé of longtime MLB executive Branch Rickey, Narron continued in baseball after his playing career ended in 1948. He was the bullpen catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers during 1949 and 1950, the last two years of Rickey's tenure there, then followed him to the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Buccos' Major League bullpen coach from 1951 through 1964.