Jim French was a backup catcher for the Senators from 1965-71 (but mostly from 1968-70).
French was signed by the Nats in 1963, and spent part of every season from 1963-71 in the minors except for ’69 and ’70. He made his major-league debut in September 1965, but his extended MLB playing time began in late-June 1968.
Jim played 59 games over the second half of 1968, starting 47 of them when regular catcher (and 1967 All-Star) Paul Casanova was given some rest.
French was with the Senators for all of 1969-70, and started 56 and 52 games those seasons as Casanova’s backup.
Jim started 13 games over the first month of 1971, but was sent down to the minors by late-May. Rookie Dick Billings eventually took the starting catcher’s job from Casanova by mid-season, so French was the odd man out.
He played the remainder of that year in AAA for the Nats and Braves, and was released during the last week of September.
French became an attorney after his playing days.
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1 comment:
Not sure why, but 69 is one of my least favorite card designs. An argument could be made that the design is similar to 67, which I really like. Mike Shannon's card is even the same picture. Putting aside the obvious substantial value difference, I prefer the 67 card by far. Like the 70 and 71 designs too, but just have no love for the 69 cards.
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