Buck Varner

Glen Gann Varner

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut September 19, 1952
• Final Game September 23, 1952
• Born August 17, 1930 in Hixson, TN USA
• Died April 29, 2000 in Chattanooga, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Buck Varner was just 17 years of age when he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators before the 1948 season. He spent his initial season in pro baseball with two teams, the Carrollton Hornets of the Georgia-Alabama League and the Emporia Nationals of the Virginia League. The young outfielder hit for a combined average of .291 with 9 home runs for the two clubs.

Buck was with the Orlando Senators and the Chattanooga Lookouts in another combined season in 1949, where he hit at a .322 clip, with 7 homers, while appearing in 138 games. Varner got into 31 games with Chattanooga and hit for a .260 average in 1950 before being called up for duty with the United States Marines during the Korean War. He arrived back in mid-season of 1952, appeared in 57 games for the Southern Association Chattanooga club, hitting at a .290 average and got a late September call-up to the Washington major league team.

Varner arrived in time for a brief two-game stint with the Griffith Stadium team, in which he went hitless in four at-bats. This would be the extent of his major league time. He dropped back to the minors for two seasons and finished up his minor league run with the Charlotte Hornets in 1954. This completed Buck's professional baseball career with a .277 average and 31 homers in 469 games.

Buck, who resided on Varner Road in his birthplace of Hixson, Tennessee, near Chattanooga, TN, stated: "The property has been in the family for many years. I got out of baseball in the mid '50s and became a member of the Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters. I was a welder and pipefitter at the Sequoia Nuclear Plant with the Tennessee Valley Authority.... But now I'm retired and good at it."

Buck passed away on April 29, 2000, at the age of 69, and is buried at the Jackson Chapel Cemetery in his native Hixson, Tennessee.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page