Edward Joseph "Ebba" St. Claire (August 5, 1921 — August 22, 1982) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player and the father of Randy St. Claire

Randy St. Claire

Randall Anthony St. Claire is a former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos , Cincinnati Reds , Minnesota Twins , Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays as a relief pitcher...

. He stood 6'1" tall and weighed 219 pounds. He was a switch hitter

Switch hitter

In baseball, a switch-hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed.-Baseball:Usually, right-handed batters hit better against left-handed pitchers and vice-versa. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often...

 and threw right-handed. He can best be described as a prototypical defensive-minded backup catcher.

He was born in Whitehall, New York

Whitehall (village), New York

Whitehall is a village located in the town of Whitehall in Washington County, New York, USA. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and was a standout catcher on the Whitehall Centrall High School baseball team. After his high school career ended, St. Claire attended Colgate University

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

, where he was a star player.

As there was no amateur entry baseball draft at the time, St. Claire began his professional career on January 1, 1942, when he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

.

After a long minor league career, St. Claire was traded by Pittsburgh to the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 as part of a minor league working agreement so that he could tutor young pitchers in the Braves organization. He made his major league debut with Boston on April 17, 1951. He played with Boston again in 1952 and continued to play with the Braves franchise in 1953 when they relocated and became the Milwaukee Braves. On February 1, 1954, St. Claire was traded by Milwaukee with Johnny Antonelli

Johnny Antonelli

John August Antonelli is an American former left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, New York and San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians....

, Billy Klaus

Billy Klaus

William Joseph Klaus was a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played with the Boston & Milwaukee Braves , Boston Red Sox , Baltimore Orioles , Washington Senators and Philadelphia Phillies . He played the end of the 1963 season in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons...

, Don Liddle

Don Liddle

Donald Eugene Liddle was an American left-handed pitcher in professional baseball who played four seasons in the Major Leagues for the Milwaukee Braves, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from through...

, and $50,000 to the New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 for Bobby Thomson

Bobby Thomson

Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...

 and Sam Calderone

Sam Calderone

Samuel Francis Calderone was an American professional baseball catcher. The native of Beverly, New Jersey, spent three seasons in Major League Baseball as a member of the New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves...

. After spending much of this season in the minor leagues, St. Claire was released from his contract and never played professional baseball again.

Ebba St. Claire died in Whitehall at the age of 61.

Another son of his, Steve St. Claire, had a four-year minor league career as an outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 and pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

.

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