A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Niarhos signed a contract with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1941. He began his professional baseball career with the Akron Yankees at the age of 20. Niarhos posted a .306 batting average in 112 games, to help Akron win the 1941 Middle Atlantic League pennant. In 1942 he moved up to the Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League where he hit for a .278 average. Niarhos joined the United States Navy in 1943 and, was stationed at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island.\n', '

After the Second World War ended, Niarhos returned to the Yankees organisation in 1946, playing for Kansas City Blues of the American Association. He made his major league debut with the Yankees on June 9, 1946 at the age of 25. Niarhos returned to the minor leagues in 1947 where he hit for a .321 batting average in 93 games for Kansas City, prompting Blues manager Billy Meyer to describe him as, "the best catcher in the organisation." This was high praise in an organisation that included future catching standouts such as Yogi Berra, Sherm Lollar and Aaron Robinson.\n', '

Niarhos returned to the major leagues in 1948, when he caught the majority of the Yankees games while Berra split time between playing the outfield and catching. In his first full season with the Yankees, Niarhos led the team with a .404 on-base percentage and had a respectable .990 fielding percentage. On September 26, he suffered a fractured bone in his right hand which ended his season. Niarhos began the 1949 season as the Yankees starting catcher however, by the end of the year, Berra had taken over the job as, the Yankees went on to win the American League pennant. In what would be the only post-season appearance of his career, Niarhos played in only one game of the 1949 World Series as a late-inning defensive replacement.\n', '

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