Clyde McCullough

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Clyde Edward McCullough (March 4, 1917 — September 18, 1982) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. After his playing career ended, he also managed in the minor leagues and was a major-league coach. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, McCullough batted and threw right-handed and in his playing days stood 5'11½" (182 cm) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).

McCullough was a catcher for fifteen years (1940-43; 1946-56) in the National League. Originally a member of the New York Yankees farm system, he never played for the Bombers; instead, he was sold to the Chicago Cubs in September 1939 after toiling for the Yanks' Kansas City Blues farm club. He spent 11 seasons of his 15-year career for the Cubs, except for four years (1949-52) with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In his playing career, he hit 15 home runs, collected 785 hits, and batted .252 in 1,098 games. McCullough played in two All Star games for the NL, in 1948 and 1953.

As a coach, McCullough worked with the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1960-61), New York Mets (1963) and San Diego Padres (1982). He was a key manager and instructor in the Mets' farm system in the mid- to late-1960s when the club developed young pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw. He was serving as the Padres' bullpen coach when he died suddenly in his hotel room in San Francisco, California, at age 65, during a road trip. He was interred in Rosewood Memorial Park Cemetery, Virginia Beach, Virginia.