Major League Baseball Player, Manager. The right-handed hitter enjoyed a 19-year career in the major leagues and for a time was Walter Johnson's catcher with the Washington Senators. He made his big-league debut with the St. Louis Browns in 1915 and played for the New York Yankees in 1917-20 and the Boston Red Sox in 1921-22. Ruel was traded to Washington on February 10, 1923 and appeared in the 1924 and 1925 World Series. Even though he hit only .095 in the 1924 classic, he played a key role in the Senators' triumph in Game 7. The score was tied 3-3 in the 12th inning when Ruel hit an easy pop foul. But New York Giants catcher Hank Gowdy got his foot caught in his mask, and the ball dropped. Given a new life, Ruel doubled and scored the winning run when Earl McNeely's grounder bounced over the head of third baseman Freddie Lindstrom. He hit .316 in the 1925 World Series, but Pittsburgh won in seven games. He also had stints with the Red Sox, Detroit, the Browns and Chicago White Sox from 1931-34. He finished with a lifetime .275 batting average with 1,242 hits. He was a coach with White Sox from 1935-45, a special assistant to commissioner A.B. "Happy" Chandler from November 1945-October 1946. He then was named manager of the Browns in 1947, but they finished last with a 59-95 record and he was fired. He then coached for Cleveland in 1948-50, was the Indians' farm director in 1951 and the Tigers' farm director in 1952-54.
Major League Baseball Player, Manager. The right-handed hitter enjoyed a 19-year career in the major leagues and for a time was Walter Johnson's catcher with the Washington Senators. He made his big-league debut with the St. Louis Browns in 1915 and played for the New York Yankees in 1917-20 and the Boston Red Sox in 1921-22. Ruel was traded to Washington on February 10, 1923 and appeared in the 1924 and 1925 World Series. Even though he hit only .095 in the 1924 classic, he played a key role in the Senators' triumph in Game 7. The score was tied 3-3 in the 12th inning when Ruel hit an easy pop foul. But New York Giants catcher Hank Gowdy got his foot caught in his mask, and the ball dropped. Given a new life, Ruel doubled and scored the winning run when Earl McNeely's grounder bounced over the head of third baseman Freddie Lindstrom. He hit .316 in the 1925 World Series, but Pittsburgh won in seven games. He also had stints with the Red Sox, Detroit, the Browns and Chicago White Sox from 1931-34. He finished with a lifetime .275 batting average with 1,242 hits. He was a coach with White Sox from 1935-45, a special assistant to commissioner A.B. "Happy" Chandler from November 1945-October 1946. He then was named manager of the Browns in 1947, but they finished last with a 59-95 record and he was fired. He then coached for Cleveland in 1948-50, was the Indians' farm director in 1951 and the Tigers' farm director in 1952-54.
Bio by: Ron Coons
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