Rance Pless

Rance Pless

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 145 lb.

• Debut April 21, 1956
• Final Game September 30, 1956
• Born December 6, 1925 in Greeneville, TN USA
• Died November 11, 2017 in Greeneville, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

In 1957, Rance Pless hit four grand slams over the course of only 34 days for the Denver Bears of the American Association. The four-run homers were hit on July 3rd, July 6th, July 30th, and August 5th of that year, and the first game was his debut game for Denver.

Rance played a decade in the minors before coming to the majors at age 30 with the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. In 48 games, he hit .271 with a good on-base percentage but didn't have much power. He was primarily used as a pinch-hitter.

His obituary [1] states he grew up on a farm, served in the Navy in World War II, and scouted for the Atlanta Braves for 25 years. Along with baseball and farming, he worked many years at Magnavox. Another obituary [2] stated he got over 2,000 hits in the minors.

Through 2019, no other major leaguer has had the last name Pless. Only one other major leaguer has had the same first name, Rance Mulliniks.

Notable Achievements

• 1955 MVP American Association Minneapolis Millers