Lloyd Merriman

Lloyd Archer Merriman (August 2, 1924 — January 20, 2004) was an American professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1949–1955 for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs. Born in Clovis, California, Merriman played college baseball and football at Stanford University and was a United States Marine Corps veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. Trained as a pilot by the United States Navy during World War II, Merriman would fly 87 missions in a Grumman F9F Panther jet fighter during the Korean War.^[1]

As a baseball player, Merriman threw and batted left-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg). Because of his wartime service, he was nearly 24 when he was signed by Cincinnati in 1948. He had one year of minor league experience, with the 1948 Columbia Reds of the Class A Sally League, and batted .298 before becoming a member of the Major League Reds in 1949. He was the Reds' regular center fielder that season, but he batted only .230 with limited home run power, and was a reserve outfielder for the 1950–1951 Reds before being called back into military service as a Marine pilot.

He returned to the Majors in 1954 and batted a career-high .268 in limited service before closing out his MLB career in 1955 playing for both Chicago clubs. In retirement, he operated an insurance business and raised and trained horses in his native California. He died at 79 in Fresno, California. Merriman is enshrined in the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference