Buster Mills

Buster Mills
Outfielder
Born: (1908-09-16)September 16, 1908 Ranger, Texas
Died: Arlington, Texas
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 18, 1934, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
June 1, 1946, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average	.287
Home runs	14
Runs batted in	163
Teams
as Player St. Louis Cardinals (1934) Brooklyn Dodgers (1935) Boston Red Sox (1937) St. Louis Browns (1938) New York Yankees (1940) Cleveland Indians (1942; 1946) as Manager Cincinnati Redlegs (1953)

Colonel Buster Mills (September 16, 1908 – December 1, 1991) was an American outfielder, coach, scout and interim manager in Major League Baseball. A native of Ranger, Texas, Mills received a degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma in 1931. In his playing days he stood (181.6 cm) tall, weighed 195 pounds (88.5 kg), and threw and batted righthanded.

Mills came through the extensive St. Louis Cardinals farm system during the early 1930s, receiving a 29-game trial with the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals and then a 17-game tryout with the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers. He played the rest of his MLB career in the American League for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians (1937–40; 1942; 1946). Overall, he played in 415 games, and compiled a lifetime batting average of .287 with 14 home runs and 163 runs batted in. In 1940, Mills batted .397 in 63 at bats for the Yankees, largely as a pinch hitter.

After military service in World War II, Mills became a coach for the Indians (1946), Chicago White Sox (1947–50), Cincinnati Redlegs (1953) and Red Sox (1954) and managed in minor league baseball. He was the interim manager of the 1953 Redlegs, finishing the unexpired term of Rogers Hornsby, who resigned late in the season. Mills' record in Cincinnati was 4–4 (.500).

After his coaching career, Mills spent many seasons as a scout for the Kansas City Athletics, then the Yankees. He died in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 83.

References

• Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., The Baseball Register 1954 edition. St. Louis: The Sporting News.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)

Preceded by Ski Melillo

Boston Red Sox third-base coach 1954

Succeeded by Jack Burns