A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Geraghty was a graduate of Villanova University, where he received a degree in journalism. He went right from the Villanova campus to the 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers, but would appear in only 70 Major League games, 51 with the Dodgers in his rookie season and 19 more with the Boston Braves (1943–44). He compiled a batting average of .199 in 146 at bats, with his 29 hits including four doubles. He also played ten seasons in the minor leagues. Geraghty threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).\n', '

On June 24, 1946, Geraghty survived one of the greatest tragedies in baseball history, when the bus carrying his minor league team, the Spokane Indians of the Class B Western International League, crashed while attempting to avert an oncoming car on a rain-slicked mountain pass. Nine players were killed; Geraghty was among the injured. He sustained a severe head wound when he was thrown through a window before the bus burst into flames, but was able to climb up the hillside and signal for help. The Spokane club was decimated and could only continue the season with players loaned from other teams and organizations. "I guess I\'m pretty lucky", Geraghty told the Associated Press the day after the crash. "I was thrown right out a window. I took the window frame right with me. I remember flying out the window, but I must have been knocked out because I don\'t remember landing."\n', '

Despite his head injury, Geraghty was named the immediate replacement for Mel Cole—the team\'s catcher and player-manager who perished in the crash—as the Indians\' first post-accident skipper. But his injuries were too serious and former big-leaguer Glenn Wright assumed the reins for the rest of 1946. Geraghty was able to return to Spokane to manage the Indians in 1947, and he led them to a second-place finish and 87 victories. His health, however, would never be the same. He would manage in the minors for the next 16 seasons, but he was troubled by heart disease, cardiovascular disease and ulcers, and developed a reputation as a heavy drinker.\n', '

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