Joe Lonnett and Roy Smalley pass away

[Cowtipper]

Lonnett was a backup catcher for the Phillies from 1956 to 1959.

Joseph P. Lonnett, 84, of Brighton Twp., died Monday evening, December 5, 2011, with his devoted wife and family at his side.

Born February 7, 1927, in Beaver Falls, he was the youngest child of Frank and Rose Barberio Lonnett. He was a resident of Brighton Twp. for the past 45 years and a member of SS Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church, Beaver. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy during WW II and the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Joe was a professional baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies and later became a Major League Baseball coach with several teams including the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was third base coach for the Pirates during the 1979 World Championship season.

Read more:

http://www.timesonline.com/your_news...46169f2f5.html

Smalley played the last four years of his career with the Phillies, hitting .204 in 186 games.

Roy Smalley Jr., who was signed as a free agent at 17 and went on to play for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies during baseball’s Golden Era, died Saturday. He was 85.

Smalley, father of baseball great Roy Smalley III, hit 21 homers and drove in 85 runs in 1950. But it was his marriage that year to Jolene Mauch — sister of Braves player Gene Mauch — that made headlines as they walked down the aisle when the Cubs were in town for a matchup with the then-Boston Braves. Mauch later became a heralded manager, and Smalley played for him with the AAA Minneapolis Millers after he retired in 1958 from the Major Leagues.

Read more:

http://www.gvnews.com/news/cubs-stan...cc4c03286.html

[BigRon]

Joe Lonnett was from my home town, Beaver Falls, Pa. Lonnett showed some promise as a minor league hitter, but was a backup guy with the Phillies for 4 years in the Majors. The most interesting thing I know about Lonnett is that, to my knowledge, his last name had always been pronounced LAWN-et. But, by the time he became a coach with the Pirates in the late 70s, his name was lawn-ETT. I saw him at a local watering hole once or twice and meant to ask him about that, but never got around to it.

[philliesfiend55]

Lonnett became a solid backup catcher for the Phillies for four years (1956-1959), his only time in the majors as a player, after reaching the big leagues very late at age 29. A real tough guy, he was one of my favorite late-'50s Phillies. I saw him break up a scoreless tie to win a game on TV once. In the bottom of the ninth with the score still 0-0, the player in front of Lonnett tripled. Lonnett then won the game, launching a deep fly ball for a walkoff Sacrifice Fly.