Don Leppert (leppedo01)

Donald Eugene Leppert
(Tiger)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Christian Brothers High School (Memphis)
• Debut April 11, 1955
• Final Game September 25, 1955
• Born November 20, 1930 in Memphis, TN USA
• Died January 5, 2021 in Olive Branch, MS USA

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Biographical Information

The name Don Leppert wouldn't seem to be common enough that there would be a pair of unrelated major leaguers with the name, but there was and this is Don E. Leppert, who was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles at the start of the 1955 season. This Leppert was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees before the 1949 season. The middle infielder spent five seasons (1949-1954) in the minors before getting his chance in the majors.

Don had two good seasons on his way up the ladder. As a 19-year-old in 1950 with the McAlester Rockets of the Sooner State League, he hit .330 in 140 games for the second-place Rockets and was named the All-Star second baseman. In 1954, playing for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association, he hit .313 with 10 home runs and was chosen for the All-Star team. At this point in time, Don was involved in a 17-player deal, the largest trade in baseball history, that sent him from the Yankees to the Orioles and put him at second base for the start of the 1955 season with Baltimore.

Leppert's time in the majors with Baltimore in 1955 didn't last too long as he struggled with just a .114 average (8-for-70) in 40 games; he spent other parts of the season in the minor leagues where he performed most the year with the Charleston Senators of the American Association, hitting .271 in 119 games.

His big league days were over. Don left baseball the following year after playing 52 games with the Vancouver Mounties and hitting .256, then wrapped his baseball career up with a 67-game run with the Birmingham Barons with a .278 average. Don had a seven-year run in the minors, showing a .291 batting average and fielding at a .965 percentage.

After baseball, he worked for many years for the Chattanooga Bakery Company in Memphis, TN and as of last notice was retired in Southaven, MS. The other Leppert was Don G. Leppert, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators in the early 1960s and later a coach with Pittsburgh.

Sources

• Baseball Players of the 1950s
  

Related Sites

• BR Minors Page