Joe Lonnett

Joe Lonnett
Catcher
Born: February 7, 1927 Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: December 5, 2011(2011-12-05) (aged 84) Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 22, 1956, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1959, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.166
Home runs	6
Runs batted in	27
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player Philadelphia Phillies (1956–1959) As coach Chicago White Sox (1971–1975) Oakland Athletics (1976) Pittsburgh Pirates (1977–1984)

Joseph Paul Lonnett (February 7, 1927 – December 5, 2011) was an American professional baseball catcher, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. During his playing days, Lonnett stood 5 feet 10+1⁄2 inches (1.791 m) tall, weighing 185 pounds (84 kg). He threw and batted right-handed.

Playing career

Lonnett graduated from Beaver Falls High School and signed with the Phillies in 1948, and spent much of his career with the Phillies as a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) catcher and manager, and MLB catcher and scout. He missed two seasons while serving in the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. Lonnett spent four MLB seasons a second-string receiver, appearing in 143 games, while batting .166, with six home runs (HR) and 27 runs batted in (RBI) — never once cracking the .200 level for a season.

Coaching career

Fellow Western Pennsylvania native Chuck Tanner had promised Lonnett that he would be one of his coaches if he ever became an MLB manager. Tanner honored his word when he named Lonnett and Al Monchak third- and first-base coaches respectively with the Chicago White Sox on October 2, 1970. All three would serve in similar capacities together with the White Sox (1971–75), Oakland Athletics (1976) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1977–84).

When Tanner was traded to the Pirates for Manny Sanguillén — only the second trade in MLB history to involve a manager — Lonnett followed him to Pittsburgh. He wore Sanguillén's No. 35 jersey until the Pirates re-acquired Sanguillén a year later; after which, he wore No. 32. Eventually, Lonnett served as third-base coach on the Pirates' 1979 world championship team.

In 1987, he was named the manager of the St. Catharines Blue Jays of the Short-Season 'A' affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays in the New York–Penn League, which finished at 41–36, 4th in the NY–P Western Division.

Later life and death

In the final years of his life, Lonnett battled Alzheimer's disease and was cared for by his wife of 56 years, Alvida. In 2004, he attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1979 World's Champs, at PNC Park.

Lonnett succumbed to his long-standing illness, in his home town of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, on December 5, 2011. He was 84.

References

• Marcin, Joe, and Byers, Dick, eds., The Official 1977 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1977.
• Thorn, John, and Palmer, Peter, eds., Total Baseball. New York: Warner Books, 1989.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Joe Lonnett at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
• Joe Lonnett at Baseball Almanac
• Joe Lonnett at Baseball Library
• Joe Lonnett at Find a Grave
• Pirates' Lonnett was a man who valued family Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 8, 2011
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Obit