Although Ray Katt’s autograph won’t be in Lone Stars of the Diamond — the veteran coach died in 1999 — we have his autograph (see photo).One day, while rummaging through a shelf of books at a local thrift store, I found a 1956 edition of The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball. The pages were yellowed and the cover a little warped, but the price was right: $2.
I own a couple of other editions of the book, which was published through the years as a way to keep track of big-league players and their statistics as well as document the history of the major leagues. It seemed like a good addition to the collection.
And then when I got home, I opened the front cover to discover this warning, from the longtime coach at Texas Lutheran University: “Please Return to Ray Katt.” It had been part of his collection, perhaps even bought during his big-league career, which lasted from 1952-59.
Finding the signature reminded me of an interview we did in 1997, marking the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in the major leagues.
Katt played against Robinson in the 1950s. As a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ archrivals, the New York Giants, and as a catcher, it was entirely possible that Katt wasn’t going to have had much positive to say about Robinson. But the old coach just sort of shook his head at the thought.
“He wanted to beat your butt, every way he could,” Katt recalled, with a touch of admiration. “He wanted to win more than anybody I ever saw.”
Ray Katt’s big-league statistics
I just happened upon this note about Ray Katt. My best friend as a teen, Mark Isbel, played for Katt at TLC. I recognized his signature in the photo immediately as I had some of his baseball cards that Mark owned and that I had been given after Mark's death in 1983. This was a little blast from the past as today would have been Mark's 55th birthday.
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