Johnny Blanchard

Biography

John Edwin Blanchard (February 26, 1933 – March 25, 2009) was a professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder and catcher from 1955 and 1959-1965. A defensive liability for the New York Yankees for most of his career, Blanchard is probably best-known for his play in the 1961 World Series. He hit 2 home runs in that series against the Cincinnati Reds and batted .400 for the entire series. In his career, Blanchard appeared in the World Series 5 times for the Yankees and holds the Major League record with ten World Series pinch-hit at-bats. Blanchard was the catcher who called the pitch that Bill Mazeroski hit for the first-ever series ending home run off Ralph Terry in the 1960 World Series in which the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the heavily favored Yankees. Johnny Blanchard died of a heart attack in North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota on March 25, 2009.