Ron Blackburn

Ronald Hamilton Blackburn "Blackie" (April 23, 1935 – April 29, 1998) was a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1958 and 1959 seasons after playing minor league ball. His major league debut was on Opening Day 1958 against the Milwaukee Braves. The first batter he pitched against in his major league career was Hank Aaron. Aaron hit a single off of Blackburn, but he managed to keep the next nine batters off base for his first Major League win. After retiring from baseball, he was a teacher and baseball coach at North Carolina's Catawba College and then recreation director at the Western Correction Center in Morganton, North Carolina.

Life

Born on April 23, 1935 in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He studied at Catawba College where he met his wife Sandra Lower. In 1964 after his baseball career ended he got a coaching job at Western Carolina University where he also went to school. He had his first son Ron H. Blackburn jr. in 1963 and second son Rick S. Blackburn in 1965. The family moved to Cullowhee, North Carolina a few years later before relocating to Morganton, North Carolina where he died on April 29, 1998. He is buried in Carolina Memorial Park, Concord, North Carolina.

Career

Ron played many seasons in the minor leagues and two consecutive seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On the road his roommate was Bill Mazeroski and he played on the same team as legendary outfielder Roberto Clemente. He was a right-handed pitcher and also batted right. He stood at 6.5' and 160 at the height of his career. Ron played his last game on July 28, 1959.

References

• http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blackro01.shtml
• http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=blackro01
• http://www.historyforsale.com/html/prodetails.asp?documentid=20424&start=1&page=47