Charley Grant

Charles Henry Grant

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 188 lb.

• Born March 22, 1921 in Graceville, FL USA
• Died March 28, 1988

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Charley Grant played in the minor leagues in 1941 and 1942 and from 1946 to 1958. He hit over 200 in his 15-year career.

He began his professional career in 1941, playing for the Tallahassee Capitals, Moultrie Packers, Troy Dodgers/Tuskegee Airmen and Dothan Browns. Records are incomplete, but he had at least 81 hits and three home runs that season. In 1942, he hit .288 with 85 hits and no home runs in 70 games for Dothan. He did not play from 1943 to 1945.

Returning to professional baseball in 1946, Grant hit .293 with 119 hits and nine home runs in 116 games for the San Antonio Missions. He split 1947 between the Elmira Pioneers (26 G, 2 HR, .185 BA) and San Antonio (83 G, 13 HR, .229 BA), hitting a combined .221 with 15 home runs in 109 games. He hit .290 with 12 home runs in 97 games for the Missions (70 G, 11 HR, .297 BA) and Toledo Mud Hens (27 G, 1 HR, .268 BA) in 1948 and in 1949, he hit .239 with seven home runs and 125 hits for the Missions.

With San Antonio again in 1950, Grant hit .252 with 23 home runs and 124 hits in 132 games and the next year, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he hit .263/.329/.440 with 19 home runs and 77 RBI in 149 games. In 1952, he hit .244 with 15 home runs in 129 games for San Antonio (118 G, 13 HR, .247 BA) and Toronto (11 G, 2 HR, .220 BA). He hit .216/.288/.413 with 13 home runs and 29 RBI for the Portland Beavers in 1953 and in 1954, he hit at least three home runs in 24 games split between the Beavers and Lincoln Chiefs.

The next two seasons, 1955 and 1956, would represent the high-point in Grant's career. Moving to the Donalsonville Seminoles of the Alabama-Florida League in 1955, Grant hit .329 with 37 home runs and a .627 slugging percentage in 117 games. He led the league in home runs, finished second behind Neb Wilson in slugging percentage, placed third in total bases (271) and tied for third in games played. He also managed the Seminoles (or Indians) that year, leading them to a sixth-place finish. With the Graceville Oilers in 1956, he hit .356 with 29 doubles, 25 home runs and a .624 slugging percentage in 116 games. He led the ALFL in hits (154) and doubles, finished second behind Neb Wilson in home runs, slugging percentage and total bases (270), placed second behind Whitey Ries in batting average and tied for third in the league in games played.

He sank back to mediocrity in 1957, hitting .240 with at least 15 home runs in 121 games split between Graceville, the Savannah Redlegs and the Nashville Volunteers. He replaced Bob Wellman as manager of Graceville partway through the year. In 1958, his final season, he hit .249 with seven home runs in 103 games split between the Orlando Flyers (61 G, 7 HR, .296 BA) and Panama City Fliers (42 G, 0 HR, .167 BA). He managed both clubs that year as well.

Overall, Grant hit around .265 with at least 203 home runs in 1,607 games over 15 seasons.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1946. His birth year has also been listed as 1923.[1]

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1955	Donalsonville Indians	Alabama-Florida League	47-73	6th	none
1957	Graceville Oilers	Alabama-Florida League	20-17	2nd	Cincinnati Reds	Co-Champs	replaced Bob Wellman (46-37) July 19
1958	Orlando Flyers	Florida State League	29-42	--	Toronto Maple Leafs	--	replaced by Ty Braziel (22-46-1) June 22
	Panama City Fliers	Alabama-Florida League		8th	San Francisco Giants		replaced Joe Tipton