Bob McNamara (baseball)
Robert Maxey McNamara (September 19, 1916 – March 9, 2011) was an infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly at shortstop for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1939 season. Listed at 5'10", 170 lb., He batted right-handed.[1]
Born in Denver, Colorado, McNamara was one of many baseball players whose professional career was interrupted during World War II. He was the son of Charles and Dorothy McNamara, and moved with the family to Long Beach, California, where he graduated from Compton High School in 1935. A 4.0 student, he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. He then went to the University of California at Berkeley on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 1939. He played freshman football, basketball and concentrated on baseball, being selected an All-American and the Conference Player of the Year in 1939 during his senior year.[2]
McNamara debuted with the Athletics of Connie Mack in 1939. In his first major league at-bat, against the New York Yankees, he drilled a single off Lefty Gomez at Yankee Stadium. Overall, he appeared in nine games, batting a .222 average (2-for-9) with one double and three runs batted in, including a walk and a strikeout with no home runs. He also played three minor league seasons, being managed by Rogers Hornsby and Pepper Martin, among others.[3][4]
Following his baseball career, McNamara worked for Northrop Corporation. He rose through the accounting and finance ranks and retired as a Corporate Officer, Senior Vice-President of Finance. He married Annabelle Jane Tarr in 1939. They were married for 66 years and raised three children in Fullerton, California. He widowed in 2006.[2]
McNamara died in Rancho Bernardo, California, at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was recognized as the ninth oldest living major league player.[2]