Harold (Hal) Richard Naragon was born on October 1, 1928 in Zanesville, Ohio but grew up and spent most of his life in Barberton, Ohio where he passed away on August 31, 2019. Hal was a star high school baseball player and in 2000 the Barberton High School baseball field was named “Naragon Field” in his honor. Naragon, a catcher, was 6’ and weighed about 160 pounds and batted left handed. After signing as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 1947 after graduating from high school, Hal started working his way up the minor league chain and made his major league debut on September 23, 1951. Hal missed the 1952 and 1953 season while serving our country in the Marine Corps. Hal was a part of the 111-43 Cleveland Indians team in 1954 that went on to the World Series only to get swept by the New York Giants. When Naragon played in Cleveland he caught future Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn until he was traded to the Washington Senators in 1959.
After the 1960 season the Senators relocated to Minnesota and Naragon played with the Twins in 1961 and 1962. After being released by Minnesota after the 1962 season he was offered a coaching position under manager Sam Mele and he coached with the Twins from 1963 through 1966. After the 1966 season Naragon moved on to coach for the Detroit Tigers between 1967 and 1969 before he hung up his spikes once and for all. Hal caught in the big leagues for all or parts of 10 seasons with the Indians, Senators and the Twins compiling a career batting average of .266 in 424 games but he was never able to achieve full-time playing status. Never the less, Naragon was a valuable asset behind the plate and swung a good left handed stick and in 985 at bats had 262 hits, 6 home runs and 87 RBI.
Hal leaves behind his wife of seventy-one years, Joanne; his daughter, Pamela (Jeff) Yeck of Canton; grandsons, Chad (Noel) Bradley of Massillon and Evan (Amber) Bradley of Massillon; great-grandchildren, Whitney and Maverick Bradley; his brother, Thomas (Barbara) Naragon; as well as many nieces, nephews and many many friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Barbara Cole and brother, Jim Naragon. RIP Hal Naragon and thank you for all the memories. About ten years ago I did an interview with Hal that you can listen to here.
The SABR Baseball Biography Project write-up on Hal can be found here.