ANDERSON

Catcher Ferrell Anderson was signed by scout Bill Essick for the New York Yankees in 1939 after spending four years at the University of Kansas, where he was an all conference tackle on the football team. He began playing in his hometown of Joplin, Missouri, in the Class C Western League. He moved frequently in his first year with the Yankee organization and was finally sold to the Montreal Royales in the winter of 1942. Because he was classified 1A in the draft he was not allowed to leave the country to go to Canada and was instead he was assigned to the Durham Bulls in the Class B Piedmont League. Only about two months into the season he went in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC and Fort Sill, OK, with the 1864th AST Field Artillery School and played baseball. He was a S/Sgt and also worked in the hospital. In December 1945 he was mustered out of the service and rejoined Montreal. He remained with the Brooklyn Dodgers parent team for the 1946 season and played in 79 games for them. He was then drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to the St. Paul Saints of the AAA American Association, where he stayed until he went to the St. Louis Cardinals for 18 games in 1953. He then managed for two years with Omaha Cardinals in the Class A Western League and the Columbus Cardinals in the Class A South Atlantic League before quitting baseball in 1955 to go in the insurance business.

Baseball statistics

March 12th, 1978

Ferrell Anderson Dies

This is one of those things that I wish I had my books for, since I'm sure there's some kind of story because Ferrell Anderson, but damned if I can find it. Leaving the name aside--Ferrell is apparently an Irish name that means 'brave'--Anderson's professional baseball adventures begin in 1939 when he was signed by the Yankees. Sometime between 1939 and the beginning of the 1942 season, Ferrell found his way to the Brooklyn Dodgers although whether this was by trade, waivers or otherwise is unknown.

Ferrell made his debut for the Dodgers in 1946 as the back-up catcher, and put a decent year hitting .256/.330/.337 while playing seventy games behind the dish. Here Anderson's once again fades from the spotlight, bouncing from the Dodgers to the Reds, back to the Dodgers, to the Phillies (once again in an unknown variety of transaction), from the Phillies to the Browns and the Browns to the Cardinals, all without playing a Major League game.

Finally, in 1953 after a six season away, Anderson returned to the Major Leagues. He was less impressive this time, playing in just eighteen games and getting only thirty-five times at bat. Ferrell hit .286 but it was an empty .286 with no walks and no power. After that season, he disappears from the radar entirely, no more time in the Majors. I remain hopeful my full library will reveal more about the mysterious life and career of Ferrell Anderson but for now the most information I can give about his post baseball career is the title, his death in early 1978.

CATEGORY	TOTAL	1937	1938
YEAR		*	*
POSITION
HEIGHT
WEIGHT
JERSEY
Games Played/Started
Points
Per Game
Rebounds
Per Game
FG: Attempts
Made
Percent
FT: Attempts
Made
Percent

Ferrell Anderson

From BR Bullpen