Buck Etchison

Clarence Hampton Etchison

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• High School West Friendship High School
• Debut September 22, 1943
• Final Game October 1, 1944
• Born January 27, 1915 in Baltimore, MD USA
• Died January 24, 1980 in East New Market, MD USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Maryland native Buck Etchison spent fifteen seasons in professional baseball from 1939 to 1953. He spent two of those seasons in the Major Leagues in 1943 and 1944. Etchison had five seasons in the minor leagues before making his debut with the Boston Braves on September 22, 1943.

Buck had busted 94 home runs from 1939 to 1943 and hit over the .300 mark two times with a .363 average for the Welch Miners of the Mountain State League in 1940 and .325 for the Grand Rapids Colts of the class B Michigan State League in 1941. Buck had hit .294 with 8 homers in 480 at-bats for the Hartford Bees of the Class A Eastern League when the Braves gave him his first look in the Major Leagues. Buck appeared in ten games and hit for a .316 average.

In 1944, his only full year in the Major Leagues, Etchison appeared in 109 games for the Braves and was able to hit only at a .214 average. This would be Buck's swan song in the Major Leagues and he ended his short run in the Bigs after appearing in 119 total games. He had 327 at-bats and 72 base-hits with 8 home runs for a Major League career batting average of .220. Buck fielded his first base position with a .991 career percentage.

On October 14, 1944 the Boston Braves sent Etchison to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association to complete an earlier deal made that September. To complete that transaction the Braves sent players to be named later to the Brewers for Dick Culler and Tommy Nelson. Buck spent the 1945 season in a combined affair with the Brewers and the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association hitting .260 with 16 home runs in 420 at-bats.

In 1946, Etchison found work in the Class B Interstate League in a split season affair with the York White Roses and the Sunbury Yankees, hitting .318 in 99 games with 18 home runs. From here on out (1947-1953) Buck relegated his talents to player-manager with seven teams in six leagues. This ended his affair with professional baseball and he left the game having appeared in 1,567 minor league games with 5,552 at-bats and 1,690 base-hits, that includes 172 home runs, for a .304 minor league batting average.

After baseball Etchison returned to the family farm in Cambridge, MD, until he retired to Clarksville, MD in 1968. He died from a heart condition en route to the hospital on January 24, 1980 in East New Market, MD. He was 64 years of age.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1947	Mahanoy City Bluebirds	North Atlantic League	67-65	4th	none	Lost in 1st round
1948	Mahanoy City Brewers	North Atlantic League	79-54	4th	none	Lost in 1st round
1949	Griffin Pimientos	Georgia-Alabama League		--	none	--	replaced by Rudy York June 17
1950	Youngstown Athletics	Middle Atlantic League	51-61	5th	Philadelphia A's
1951	Rome Colonels	Canadian-American League	46-71	5th	Philadelphia A's
1952	Harrisburg Senators	Interstate League	37-67	--	Philadelphia A's	--	replaced by Woody Wheaton (9-37) August 8
1953	Fayetteville Highlanders	Carolina League	9-17	--	Philadelphia A's	--	replaced by Bill Bergeron (8-22) on May 20

Related Sites

• Buck Etchison at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page