Former Senators catcher, executive dies.

[sox83cubs84]

Hal Keller, a catcher briefly with the original Washington Senators and a player development executive with the expansion Senators and Rangers, died Tuesday at age 84.

Keller had cups of coffee with the Senators as a catcher in 1949-50 and 1952. He worked in an executive capacity for the expansion Senators/Texas Rangers for most of the period from 1961-78.

Hal was the younger brother of Yankees great Charlie "King Kong" Keller.

Dave Miedema

[coxfan]

Thanks for the info on someone who was important in baseball development but not well remembered. By the way, few people know, as I didn't for a long time, that the old Senators were sometimes also called the Nationals (that term was used for them sometimes on 1950's baseball cards, I think.)

I believe the term "Nationals" probably began with the 1867 Washington National Baseball Club, which may have been the first "true" all-salaried team. The Club was a true club, with Congressmen, etc. among its dues-paying members. It's "first nine" was composed of Treasury Department employees whose jobs were based on their baseball skills, and whose "duties" consisted of representing the Washington baseball club. That system of putting players with sham jobs on the government payroll was blatantly corrupt; but in the confusion of reconstruction such matters were lost in the shuffle. The "National Club" nine was considered the best in the US.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were the first to be HONESTLY all-salaried. When the Cincinnati baseball club discontinued its professional program after 1870, their remnants moved to Boston in 1871, became a corporation that was still called a "club" though it was no longer a true club, and have become without interruption the modern Braves.

[ironmanfan]

Detailed Obituary for Mr. Keller:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fre...eid=sp_ommatch