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05/11/2009 3:25 PM ET
2009 Class Welcomed To Hall Of Fame
Team inducts four to New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall Of Fame
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 New Orleans native Ralph "Putsy" Caballero holds the major league record for being the youngest third baseman to play in the big leagues, debuting for the Phillies at age 17 in 1944.
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The 2009 class of the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall Of Fame was inducted on Saturday, May 16, during the Zephyrs game against the Portland Beavers.
The Class of 2009 includes Al Flair, Ralph Caballero, Floyd Fogg and Kirk Bullinger. The inductees will be honored on the field during the game, and plaques will be presented to each new member or their families.
A graduate of Fortier High School, "Broadway" Al Flair was one of several native New Orleanians to play for the New Orleans Pelicans during his career. After signing with the Boston Red Sox organization in 1937, Flair made his debut with the Moultrie Packers in the Georgia-Florida League. He worked his way up through the organization and saw action in the major leagues with the Red Sox in 1941 before he answered his country's call to duty, serving in the United States Army from 1942 through 1945.
Flair returned to New Orleans with the Pelicans for the 1947 and 1948 seasons where he led the Southern Association with 42 home runs and 128 runs batted in during the 1947 campaign. He is remembered for hitting one of the longest home runs in the history of Pelican Stadium - a 420-foot blast that cleared the centerfield fence against the Mobile Bears on August 29, 1947. The following year he once again led the Pelicans with 22 round trippers and a .348 batting average.
During a professional career spanning 14 seasons between 1937 and 1951, Flair compiled a .298 career batting average before retiring to build a successful business in New Orleans. He died just one day after celebrating his 72nd birthday.
Born in New Orleans in 1927, Ralph "Putsy" Caballero was a star on his Jesuit High School team when he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 16. He made his major league debut with the Phillies at third base on September 14, 1944. He still holds the major league record for being the youngest third baseman ever to play in the big leagues and is second only to pitcher Joe Nuxhall as the youngest player in all of major league baseball.
Caballero was a member of the 1950 Phillies "Whiz Kids" who captured the National League pennant from the heavily favored Brooklyn Dodgers on the last day of the season. He appeared in three World Series games against the New York Yankees.
During an 11-year career, Caballero posted a .228 batting average. He retired from baseball in 1955 and became a successful businessman, raising his family in New Orleans.
A native of Lacombe, LA, Floyd Fogg graduated from Slidell High School where he excelled in baseball and basketball before he signed a professional baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs organization in 1946. He debuted with the Hopkinsville Hoppers in the Kitty League later that year.
A versatile player and mainly a third baseman, Fogg played every infield position except second base, but he was also known for his hitting. In nine seasons of professional baseball, he averaged close to 30 doubles and 20 home runs and over 90 runs batted in per season.
He was a member of the 1951 and 1952 New Orleans Pelicans under managers Rip Sewell and Danny Murtaugh.
Fogg retired from baseball after the 1954 season with a .287 career batting average. He raised his family and still makes his home in Slidell.
A native of New Orleans, Kirk Bullinger graduated from Rummell High School in Metairie and Southeastern Louisiana University and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals organization in the 32nd round of the 1992 amateur draft. He made his major league debut on August 30, 1998 with the Montreal Expos. Bullinger has been part of various major league organizations including the Montreal Expos, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago White Sox, the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
During 14 seasons of professional baseball, the right-handed Bullinger compiled a record of 36 and 37 for a .493 winning percentage and a 2.26 ERA.
He is currently in his third season as an assistant coach on the staff of the University of New Orleans under head coach Tom Walter, working with the Privateer pitchers and assisting in recruiting.
The New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame was founded by the New Orleans Zephyrs with the induction of the first class at the Evening With the Zephyrs on January 27, 2005. Class members are selected by a panel that includes Zephyrs officials and New Orleans Baseball Historians. The panel uses the following criteria for its choices: entrants must have been a citizen of the greater New Orleans area through birth or re-location, have had outstanding baseball achievement as a player, coach or administrator that has brought recognition to the Greater New Orleans area, and be of good character and reputation.
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