Len Rice
Leonard Oliver Rice (September 2, 1918 – June 13, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944) and the Chicago Cubs (1945). A native of Lead, South Dakota, he stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
| Len Rice | |
|---|---|
| Catcher | |
| Born: September 2, 1918 Lead, South Dakota | |
| Died: June 13, 1992 (aged 73) Sonora, California | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 1944, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1945, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .223 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 7 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Rice is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He may be most well known for being a reserve catcher on the last Chicago Cubs team to win a National League pennant (1945). That was his best season, as he got into 32 games and hit .232 (23-for-99) with 7 runs batted in and 10 runs scored. He had played in just 10 games for the Reds the year before, going 0-for-4, then was drafted by the Cubs from the Reds in the 1944 rule V draft (November 1).
He died at the age of 73 in Sonora, California.