Ralph Houk

Born in Lawrence in 1919, Ralph Houk began playing as a teenager in the Lawrence Twilight League.  After a year in the outfield, Houk found his niche at catcher.  He moved on to a Ban Johnson League team in his later teen years.

Houk was also a standout quarterback for the Lawrence High School football team.  He declined scholarship offers from hometown KU and the University of Oklahoma to concentrate on baseball.

In 1938, Houk was signed to a professional contract by the New York Yankees following a Ban Johnson League tournament game in Kansas City.  He played three seasons in the minor leagues before joining the U.S. Army in 1942.

Houk was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and managed the camp baseball team.  He reached the rank of first lieutenant and was sent overseas.  Houk landed on Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.  He was also promoted in rank prior to discharge and “The Major” would become his nickname.

In 1946 the Yankees assigned Houk to Class AAA Kansas City.  In 1947, he made the big league club, caught 41 games and played in the World Series victory over the St. Louis Browns.  Houk served as a backup catcher for the Yankees for he next seven seasons, also playing in the 1952 World Series win over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Houk coached for the Yankees in 1953-54 and again in 1958.  Following the 1960 World Series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houk was named as Casey Stengel’s successor.  In 1961, Roger Maris hit 61 home runs, Whitey Ford was 25-4 and the Yankees won 109 games and beat Cincinnati in the World Series.

The Yankees repeated as World Series champions in 1962 under Houk but were swept by the Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.  Houk was promoted to general manager and Yogi Berra was named manager.  Following the 1964 World Series loss to St. Louis, Houk fired Berra and replaced him with Cardinals’ manager Johnny Keane.

By 1966, the Yankees were in last place and Houk returned as manager in 1967.  He resigned after the 1972 season and was hired by Detroit.  He managed the Tigers from 1974-1978 and was named manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1981 and stayed with the team until 1984.

In 20 years of managing, Houk’s teams were 1,619-1,531 for a .514 winning percentage.  From 1987-89, Houk was a special assistant to Minnesota Twins’ GM Andy McPhail.

Houk died in 2010 at the age of 90.

For more, read Ralph Houk’s Society for American Baseball Research bio.