Rick Ferrell Knuckleball Catcher

<p> In 1947 after 18 major league seasons with the Browns Senators and Red Sox Rick Ferrell retired as the longest playing catcher in the American League. His record 1806 games would stand for more than 40 years surpassed finally by another Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. A stout defender and choosy batter Ferrell was an eight-time All-Star who caught a rotation of four knuckleball pitchers for the 1945 Washington Senators team that lost the American League pennant in the final week of the season. Perhaps that's one of the reasons he went on to work for the Detroit Tigers for 43 years serving as coach scout and front-office executive. This biography includes highlights of Ferrell's career letters written as Detroit's general manager 15 interviews with Ferrell's friends and peers as well as thirty-four photographs some never before published.</p>