Mickey Livingston

Thompson Orville Livingston

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1½", Weight 185 lb.
• Debut September 17, 1938
• Final Game September 20, 1951
• Born November 15, 1914 in Newberry, SC USA
• Died April 3, 1983 in Newberry, SC USA

BR page

[edit] Biographical Information

Mickey Livingston was a journeyman backup catcher 18 years (1937-1956), ten in the Majors (1938, 1941-1943, 1945-1949 and 1951) and ten in the minors (1937-1940; and 1951-1956), losing one year to the Military and one year to inactivity. Livingston was born on November 15, 1914, in Newberry, SC. He married Margaret E. Darby on January 25, 1935.

Signed by scout Joe Cambria of the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1937, he played for Sanford in the Florida State League; Charlotte in the Piedmont League; and the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association (1937); and Trenton in the Eastern League (EL) (1938) when, at 23 years of age, he broke into the big leagues on 17 September 1938 with the Senators. Returned to the minors after Spring Training, he played for Springfield in the EL (1939-1940); the Philadelphia Phillies (1941-1943); and the Chicago Cubs(1943) when he was drafted into the U.S. Army on 25 March 1944 at Ft. Bragg NC. Discharged November 1944 (EOC/CR/BR), he returned to the Cubs.

He played for the Cubs (1944-1947); the New York Giants (1947-1949); the Boston Braves (1949); and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1951); where he played his final MLB game on 20 September 1951 at age 36. He returned to the minors with the St. Paul Saints in the American Association (1951); Ft. Worth in the Texas League (TL) (1951); Shreveport in the TL (1952-1953); Colorado Springs in the Western League (1954); Beaumont in the TL (1954-1955); Texas City in the Big State League (1956) and Boise in the Pioneer League (1956), ending his baseball career at age 41.

A career backup, Livingston caught more than 100 games in only 1943, split between the Phillies and Cubs. That year, he played in 120 games and hit a combined seven home runs, drove in 34 runs and hit .253. Then, after military service, he was a surprise hero in the Cubs' WS loss in 1945, with three doubles and four RBI.

In his career, Livingston hit 19 home runs and drove in 153 runs in 561 games. He also stole seven bases. As his career was winding down, he managed minor league baseball in the Texas League. His hobbies were hunting and fishing. He died on April 3, 1983 at age 68 in a VA Hospital in Houston, TX, having been ill a long time. He is buried at Newberry Memorial Gardens in Newberry, SC. Surviving him were his widow Margaret Darby Livingston, two daughters and a son.

[edit] Sources

Principal sources for Mickey Livingston include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs {{{WW}}} (WW), old Baseball Registers {{{BR}}} (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN {{{DAG}}} (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) {{{MORE}}} and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

[edit] Chronology

Before 1937 Season: Signed by Joe Cambria of the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent.

• 1938: Broke into the big leagues on 17 September 1938 with the Senators

• Before 1940 Season: Returned to Springfield of the Eastern League by the Senators after expiration of a minor league working agreement.

• 1940: On 1 October he was drafted by the Dodgers from Springfield in the 1940 rule V draft. On 11 November he was traded by the Dodgers with Bill Crouch, Vito Tamulis, and $100,000 to the Phillies for Kirby Higbe.

• 1943: On 5 August he was traded by the Philadelphia Blue Jays to the Cubs for Bill Lee.

• 1944 Drafted into the U.S. Army on 25 March at Ft. Bragg NC. Discharged in November.

• 1945 Surprise hero in the Cubs' World Series loss to the Detroit Tigers with eight hits, three runs, three doubles and four RBI at .364

• 1947: Selected off waivers by the Giants from the Cubs, 7 September.

• 1949: Selected off waivers by the Braves from the Giants, 14 June.

• 1949: Assigned to the Dodgers by the Braves, 5 Oct4ober.

• 1951: On September 19 in St. Louis, Preacher Roe is given a Cadillac by his neighbors from the Ozarks and then pitches a 3–0 five hitter over the St. Louis Cardinals. Roe is now 21–2. Filling in for the ailing Roy Campanella, backup catcher Livingston has two RBI.

• 1951 Played his final MLB game on 20 September at age 36. Released by the Brooklyn Dodgers on 15 December.

• 1956: Ended his baseball career at age 41.

[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record

[edit] Sources

Principal sources for Mickey Livingston include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs {{{WW}}} (WW), old Baseball Registers {{{BR}}} (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN {{{DAG}}} (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) {{{MORE}}} and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

[edit] Related Sites