Jerry Buchanan

(From the Dallas Morning News)

BUCHANAN, George J. "Jerry" Age 84, passed away peacefully on October 14, 2015. 

Born March 3,1931 in Dallas, Texas, Jerry graduated from Woodrow Wilson High in 1948. He then entered Southern Methodist University and lettered in baseball for the Mustangs. 

In 1950, Jerry transferred to Drury College, Springfield, Missouri, where he began his professional baseball career in combination with his fledgling journalism studies. He soon signed a bonus contract with the New York Yankees and played his first organized game as a pitcher for the Joplin Miners. 

After serving in the U.S.Army from 1951 to 1953, Jerry continued with the New York Yankees, pitching for their various farm teams, which included a winter season in Cartagena, Colombia. Jerry ended his playing career with the New Orleans Pelicans in 1958 and shortly thereafter joined American Airlines, retiring in 1996. 

Along with his friends and neighbors, Jerry will be missed by his family: brother, Tom, and his wife, Gail; nephew, Ben, and his wife, Deborah; grand nephew, Taylor, all of Atlanta, Georgia. Memorial services will be held at 3 pm on Friday, October 23rd in Restland Wildwood Chapel Dallas. Reception following at Jerry's family home.

(From John Hall's KOM Report)

Buchanan was on the 1950 Joplin Miner team that was loaded with talent including future big leaguers, Steve Kraly, Bob Wiesler, Lou Skizas, Cal Neeman and a shortstop with the last name of Mantle.

Buchanan had great stories about that era and then some later in life about Mantle when “The Mick” moved to Dallas and would encounter Buchanan, at the counter performing his duties for American Airlines at the Dallas –Ft. Worth Airport. I’m not going to get into any detail here other than Buchanan telling how Mantle would totally embarrass him by some of the things he would yell at him, for everyone to hear.

Probably the thing Buchanan was best known for as a young pitcher was his warm-up routine. While batters swung weighted bats before heading to the plate, he had a brick stashed in the bullpen and would throw it during his warm-ups. It made the ball seem lighter just like the weighted bats did for the bat used during the official plate appearance.