Obituary: Dave Ricketts / Former catcher, coach for Pirates, Cardinals

July 12, 1935 -- July 13, 2008

By Daniel Malloy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

When the Pirates obtained relief pitcher Dave Giusti in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1970 season, reserve catcher Dave Ricketts was the less-heralded part of the deal.

But Tim McCarver, whom Mr. Ricketts backed up in St. Louis, thought otherwise.

"You just won the pennant," he told friends with the Pirates. "You got Dave Ricketts. He's going to make a change in your ballclub just by being in the clubhouse."

They had to settle for the division championship that year, but the next season, after Mr. Ricketts had retired to become bullpen coach, the Pirates won the World Series.

Mr. Ricketts died Sunday in St. Louis of renal cancer. He was 73.

During his six-season Major League Baseball career, Mr. Ricketts never distinguished himself on the diamond. He finished with a .249 batting average and one home run.

But as a clubhouse presence and coach, former teammates and friends recalled, he was a star.

"He wasn't a great player," said longtime friend Nellie King, a Pirates broadcaster at the time. "But damn, he was a good guy to have on your team."

Mr. Ricketts spent the bulk of his playing and coaching career in St. Louis, but he had considerable success in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Ricketts was born in Pottstown, Montgomery County, and went to college at Duquesne University, following his brother Dick, who starred on the baseball and basketball teams. Dick Ricketts, who died in 1988, remains the Dukes' all-time leading basketball scorer and rebounder.

In 1955, when Dave was a sophomore and Dick was a senior, Duquesne won the National Invitation Tournament, then a more prestigious championship than the NCAA tournament.

Longtime Duquesne play-by-play announcer Ray Goss, an undergraduate there at the time, said the Ricketts brothers achieved a legendary status on campus.

"It was like they were kings walking around," Mr. Goss said.

The 1955 team photo for the Duquesne Dukes == NIT champions. Front row: Tom Pezko, John Nosworthy, Mickey Winograd, Dick Ricketts, Sihugo Green, Bob Schneider, Ralph Leng. Back row: Coach Dudey Moore, Lou Severine, Lou Iezzi, Dave Ricketts, Jim Fallon, assistant coach Red Manning. Manager Tom Oshinsky is seated.

Dave Ricketts shot an overhead two-handed set shot, Mr. Goss recalled, which he could make from long distances, decades before the debut of the 3-point shot. An excellent free throw shooter, he used to practice them with his eyes closed. Mr. Ricketts set an NCAA record with 42 consecutive free throws made over a seven-game span in his senior season.

That year he led the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game and finished fourth nationally in free throw shooting percentage, hitting 86.2 percent.

But baseball was Mr. Ricketts' calling, and after serving in the Army from 1957 to 1959, he set out on a career as a catcher.

He played with the Pirates for a year before beginning his coaching career. Mr. Ricketts was the team's bullpen coach from 1971 to 1973, gaining a reputation for getting along with everyone.

"There was a mixture of blacks, whites, Latins and everything, and he was able to fit into that thing," Mr. King said. "He made everybody feel like they belonged."

Mr. King became close with Mr. Ricketts after he lost his son, David Ricketts IV, to illness at a young age. After that, Mr. King roomed with Mr. Ricketts on the road to keep him company.

"[His son's death] was such a tough thing for him," Mr. King said. "I hope I made it a little easier."

But Mr. Ricketts never lost his sharp, teasing humor, which Mr. Giusti said played an important role in keeping everyone loose during the 1971 championship season.

Mr. King remembered one day in the clubhouse when Gene Clines expressed disappointment that manager Danny Murtaugh only let him hit against left-handed pitchers. With a .310 batting average, Mr. Clines reasoned, he should be in the lineup every day.

"Clines, sit down and shut up," Mr. Ricketts said. "If you had to face [right-handers Tom] Seaver and [Bob] Gibson, you wouldn't be hitting .310, I'll tell you that."

Pirates center fielder Al Oliver recalled being a frequent target of Mr. Ricketts' put-downs, but he also worked extensively with him in batting practice. Mr. Ricketts had pinpoint control and could throw hard, he remembered.

"He was probably the best batting practice pitcher that I've ever had," said Mr. Oliver, who played 18 seasons in the major leagues. "He was just a tireless worker. Anything that you wanted him to do, he would take the time."

Mr. Ricketts returned to St. Louis as a coach from 1974 to 1975, then 1978 to 1991. After that he continued to coach catchers in the Cardinals' minor league system until close to his death.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and their daughter, M. Candace Ricketts-Smith. Funeral services will be tomorrow in St. Louis.

Daniel Malloy can be reached at dmalloy@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1731.
First published on July 15, 2008 at 12:00 am