Wally Post
Walter Charles Post (July 9, 1929 – January 6, 1982) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1949 through 1964, Post played for the Cincinnati Reds & Redlegs (1949, 1951–57, 1960–63), Philadelphia Phillies (1958–60), Minnesota Twins (1963) and Cleveland Indians (1964). He batted and threw right-handed.
In a 15-season career, Post was a .266 hitter with 210 home runs and 699 RBI in 1204 games.
Post is a native of St. Wendelin, Ohio, and played baseball for St. Henry High School. He spent most of his career with Cincinnati teams. A powerful slugger in the mid-1950s, he also was respected for his strong and accurate throwing arm.
Post broke into professional baseball as a minor league pitcher in 1946 and was converted to an outfielder in 1949, the year of his majors debut. Post spent time in both the minor and major leagues for the next two years before finally being permanently called up to Cincinnati in 1954. His most productive season came in 1955, when he hit .309 with 40 home runs with 109 RBI, all career highs.
In 1957, Post and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Johnny Temple, Roy McMillan, Don Hoak, Gus Bell and Frank Robinson—were "voted" starters on the National League All-Star team, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Major League Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick intervened, removing Bell and Post from the starting line up and replacing them with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Frick allowed Bell to remain on the team as a reserve, while Post was injured and would have been unable to play in any event.
Post is also noted as the man who ended Aaron's record-setting stint on the 1950s Home Run Derby show. Post also hit the first home run at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 10, 1962.
After playing for the Phillies, Twins, Indians, and in a second stint with the Reds, Post retired in 1963. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965.
Post died in St. Henry, Ohio in 1982. He had been undergoing treatments for cancer. He was married to Patricia (Beckman) and they had four children together: Sue, John, Mary, and Cynthia. Post has thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. One of his grandchildren is former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Bobby Hoying.
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