Del Rice ✝

Delbert Rice Jr. (27 October 1922 – 26 January 1983) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1961, most notably for the St. Louis Cardinals. Although Rice was a relatively weak hitter, he sustained a lengthy career in the major leagues due to his valuable defensive abilities.\n', ' A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Rice attended Portsmouth High School where he starred in football, basketball and track as well as baseball. He was contracted as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941. Although Rice received his induction notice into the military in 1943, he was turned down because of a physical disqualification. After playing in the minor leagues for four seasons, he made his major league debut with the Cardinals on 2 May, 1945 at the age of 22. \n', ' Shortly after the season began, the Cardinals sold the contract for their star catcher, Walker Cooper to the New York Giants, leaving Rice to share catching duties with Ken O\'Dea. Although they competed for the same job, the veteran O\'Dea, who had played with Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett in Chicago during the 1930s, provided Rice with valuable help in learning the intricacies of catching in the major leagues. Rice posted a .261 batting average in 83 games as the Cardinals finished in second place, three games behind the Chicago Cubs.\n', '