Gus Niarhos

From BR Bullpen

Gus Niarhos.jpg

Constantine Gregory Niarhos

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Gus Niarhos was a catcher for 9 seasons in the majors, mostly as a backup.

He was a three-sport athlete at West End High School in Birmingham, AL. He was attending Auburn University on scholarship when he was signed by a scout for the New York Yankees. After World War II broke out, he served in the Navy.

Gus spent his first 3+ years in the majors with the Yankees. Yogi Berra was the up-and-coming catcher, and in 1948 Gus platooned at catcher with him while Yogi also played in the outfield. He appeared in one game in the 1949 World Series, which the Yankees won.

The Chicago White Sox picked him off waivers in 1950, and he hit .324 in 104 at-bats for them. The next year (1951), he hit .256, and he was on his way to the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies to close out his major league career.

After his playing career ended, he managed in the minors for many years and was a Kansas City Athletics coach from 1962 to 1964. He was Midwest League manager of the year in Burlington in 1965.

Quote[edit]

  • That was a tough organization if you were a catcher. They had Bill Dickey. Then Yogi came up. From '49 on, it was just forget about being a catcher with the Yankees." - Gus Niarhos, quoted in "Baseball's Golden Greeks"

Notable Achievement[edit]

Related Sites[edit]