Neil Chrisley

Barbra O'Neil Chrisley (December 16, 1931 – May 18, 2013)^[1] was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1957 to 1961 with the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Braves. He was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall, weighed 187 pounds and he threw right and batted left-handed.

Career

He was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 1950. On November 8, 1955, he was traded from the Red Sox with minor leaguer Al Curtis, Dick Brodowski, Tex Clevenger and Karl Olson to the Senators for Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Johnny Schmitz and Tom Umphlett.

He started his major league career at the age of 25 on April 15, 1957 against the Baltimore Orioles as a pinch hitter for Camilo Pascual in the 11th inning. He singled off pitcher Billy Loes, but Pedro Ramos pinch ran for him. He was mostly used as a pinch hitter and bench player throughout his career, which consisted of 302 games, hitting .210 in 619 career at-bats. He hit 16 home runs, walked 55 times and struck out 62 times. Defensively, he only appeared in three games at positions other than an outfielder. In 1958 he was used in one game as a third baseman, and in 1960 he was used in two games as a second baseman. He played his final game on September 24, 1961.

Post career

At one point after his retirement from baseball, he worked as an insurance agent in Greenwood, South Carolina.^[2]

In May 2004, Calhoun Falls High School inducted him into their hall of fame. Calhoun Falls Charter School named their baseball field after him. Chrisley played baseball on the same field when he attended the school.

Other information

• Chrisley hit 60 home runs in his final three minor league seasons, as well as posted a .343 average with the Indianapolis Indians in 1957.^[3]
• He collected his first home run off Bob Turley on May 9, 1958. He hit his final two homers off Johnny Kucks on May 14, 1960.
• His uniform numbers: 20 (1957), 34 (1957), 32 (1958), 24 (1959–1960), 30 (1961)
• Bill Monbouquette pitched a one-hitter against the Tigers in a game in 1960, with the only Tigers hit being a double by Chrisley.

Other transactions

• On December 6, 1958, he was traded by the Senators with Rocky Bridges and Eddie Yost to the Tigers for Reno Bertoia, Ron Samford and Jim Delsing.
• On December 7, 1960, he was traded by the Tigers with Frank Bolling to the Braves for Bill Bruton, Terry Fox, Dick Brown and Chuck Cottier.

Notes

References

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube