Nashville catcher Johnny Peacock was born on January 10, 1910. In 1936, he shared catching duties with Paul O’Malley for the Vols in his only season in Nashville, but also played second base and the outfield.
His first two professional seasons in 1933 and 1934 were spent at Wilmington (Piedmont League – Class B), 100 miles south from his home in Fremont, North Carolina. The next year he was at Toronto and was invited to spring training in 1936 with Cincinnati.
When he did not make the Reds roster, he was sent to Nashville where he batted .334. Out of his 131 hits, 27 were doubles. On September 5, he was named to the Southern Association All-Star team.
In 1937, he was elevated to the majors with the Red Sox but spent most of the season with Minneapolis. He was a utility catcher for nine seasons with Boston, the Philadelphia Blue Jays, and Brooklyn Dodgers. Known as a dependable pinch-hitter, Peacock had one career home run in the big leagues. His lifetime major league batting average was .262 in 962 games. In 1946, he became player-manager for the New Orleans Pelicans for one season, suceeding Fresco Thompson, before retiring from baseball.
Peacock died of a heart attack on October 17, 1981, at the age of 71 and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in his hometown of Fremont.
Sources
Baseball-reference.com
Newspapers.com
