Hank Foiles

Henry Lee Foiles Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of Virginia
• High School Granby High School
• Debut April 21, 1953
• Final Game May 2, 1964
• Born June 10, 1929 in Richmond, VA USA

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Biographical Information

Catcher Hank Foiles was selected twice in the Rule V Draft. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1951 Rule V Draft and sold to the Cleveland Indians in May of 1953. The Pittsburgh Pirates then obtained Foiles in a trade with the Indians on May 15, 1956. Foiles proceeded to split the Pirates' catching duties with Jack Shepard that year.

When Shepard unexpectedly retired prior to the 1957 season, Foiles became the Pirates' primary backstop. Known as a good defensive catcher rather than for his hitting, Foiles was an unlikely All-Star for the Pirates that season, when he was hitting .313 at the All-Star break. Foiles' only All-Star appearance came in the bottom of the 9th inning when he singled as a pinch-hitter against Billy Pierce, advanced to second on a walk, and scored the final run of the game on a single by Ernie Banks in a game the National League lost, 6-5, on July 9th. He finished the season with a career-high 281 at-bats, a .270 batting average, 9 home runs and 36 RBIs. Foiles remained the Pirates' starting catcher in 1958 but batted only .205. With the Pirates seeking more offense from the catching position in 1959, they traded for Smoky Burgess. Burgess became the starting catcher while Foiles shared back-up duties with Danny Kravitz.

In December 1959, Foiles was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in a deal that brought Hal Smith to the Pirates. But Foiles received little playing time with the Athletics in 1960. With the Pirates looking for catching help for their AAA Columbus Jets team, they traded Kravitz to the Athletics on June 1st in exchange for Foiles. Foiles was immediately assigned to Columbus but refused to return to the minor leagues. He received permission from Pirates general manager Joe Brown to arrange a trade to another major league club. The following day, June 2nd, Foiles was traded from the Pirates to the Cleveland Indians for John Powers, whom the Pirates then assigned to Columbus. Foiles served as a back-up catcher for the Indians until being traded less than two months later to the Detroit Tigers on July 26th, where he finished the season as a back-up catcher for the Tigers. In November 1960, Foiles was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1960 Rule V draft. Thus, in the 12 months from December 1959 to November 1960, Foiles went from the Pirates to the Athletics to the Pirates to the Indians to the Tigers to the Orioles.

He remained in the major leagues through 1964 as a back-up for the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels. Overall, Foiles played 11 years in the majors with a career .243 batting average and 46 home runs.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (1957)