| Dave Ricketts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1935-07-12)July 12, 1935 Pottstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: July 13, 2008(2008-07-13) (aged 73) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 25, 1963, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 30, 1970, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .249 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 20 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
David William Ricketts (July 12, 1935 – July 13, 2008) was anAmericancatcher andcoach inMajor League Baseball who played parts of six seasons (1963,1965,1967–1970) with theSt. Louis Cardinals andPittsburgh Pirates. Ricketts was a reserve catcher on the1967 World Series champion Cardinals and their1968 pennant winners. He later served as a longtime bullpen coach of the Cardinals (1974–1975, 1978–1991), including their1982 World Series champions and 1985 and 1987 pennant winners, after having been the bullpen coach for the Pirates from 1971 to 1973, including the1971 World Series champions. Over his career, hebatted .249 with 1home run and 20runs batted in in 130 games played.
Ricketts was born inPottstown, Pennsylvania; his older brotherDick was the first pick in the1955 NBA draft, and played three years in theNational Basketball Association before pitching briefly for the1959 Cardinals. Dave Ricketts played basketball with his brother atDuquesne University,[1] graduating in 1957 with a degree in education. He married Barbarann Boswell on August 17, 1957,[2] and they had a daughter, Candace, and a son, David Jr., who died of spinal cancer at age 10 in 1972.[3] He served in the military from 1958 to 1959. During his minor league career, he ledPacific Coast League catchers with 12double plays in 1962 while with thePortland Beavers, and ledInternational League catchers with 11 double plays the following year while with theAtlanta Crackers; he also led the IL inpassed balls in both 1963 and 1964, playing for theJacksonville Suns the latter season.[4]
Ricketts' tenure as a coach with the Cardinals was interrupted by two seasons as amanager in the Cardinals farm system; he led theSarasota Cardinals to a fourth-place finish in theGulf Coast League in 1976, and theJohnson City Cardinals to a third-place finish in theAppalachian League in 1977.[4]
Ricketts died ofrenal cancer on July 13, 2008, one day after his 73rd birthday.[5]