Hal Bevan

From BR Bullpen

Harold Joseph Bevan

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 198 lb.

Debut April 24, 1952
Final Game May 13, 1961
Born November 15, 1930 in New Orleans, LA USA
Died October 5, 1968 in New Orleans, LA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Shortly before the 1948 season started, Hal Bevan signed as an amateur free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was dispatched to the class D Rehoboth Beach Pirates of the Eastern Shore League and the young infielder appeared in 37 games, hitting .271.

In his first few years in pro ball, Hal suffered a series of injuries ranging from a fractured jaw to a broken ankle and was the victim of a serious beaning. He was with several different teams - the Modesto Reds, Waco Pirates and was with the New Orleans Pelicans in the Pirates' minor league organization when he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 1951 Rule 5 draft.

Playing through all of those injuries, Bevan had been able to maintain close to a .300 batting average from 1948 through 1951. On November 19, 1951 the Red Sox traded Hal to the Philadelphia Athletics. After eight games, the infielder was hitting .353 when he broke his leg sliding across home plate, ending his season.

Hal spent the next few seasons hitting over the .300 mark in the International League with the Ottawa A's, Columbus Jets and had a brief trial with the Kansas City A's in 1955 but no longer had the mobility to play in the majors as an infielder after the broken leg.

He became a catcher for the Seattle Rainiers and had four solid years in the PCL from 1957 through 1960, hitting .322 in 1959. He did have one more short big league trial with Cincinnati in 1961 and hit his only major league home run in three at-bats for the 1961 Reds.

Bevan played one more year in the PCL with San Diego and hit for a .307 average in his final season. Hal had a fine minor league career, from 1948 through 1962 he appeared in 1,572 games with 5,482 at bats, 1,618 base hits, including 90 round-trippers which gave him a .294 career minor league average.

A .292 hitter in his 15 big league games, Bevan scouted for the Atlanta Braves following his playing days, (1966 to 1968). He was just 37 years old when he died of a kidney infection on October 5, 1968 in New Orleans, LA.