By T. Scott Boatright
During a 13-year Major League Baseball career, Ruston native Ralph Garr lived out some special moments that remain relatively unheralded to this day.
Grambling State Athletics will honor the legendary alumnus nicknamed “Roadrunner” with an official retirement of his No. 10 baseball jersey during a ceremony at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park prior to GSU’s 3 p.m. game against Southern on Saturday, April 11.
A Grambling standout, Garr batted .585 while leading the Tigers to a 35-1 record before becoming a third-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves.
Despite starting off playing two seasons of Minor League ball, Garr eventually became a key player for Atlanta.
One of those largely unheralded moments as a Brave was standing on second base when Atlanta’s Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s then-record of 714 home runs by knocking one out of the park against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati on April 4, 1974.
Another was Garr capturing the 1974 National League batting championship by leading the league with a .353 average after already setting a record with 149 hits before the All-Star break that season.
And it all started in Grambling playing on a travel team for then-Grambling assistant coach Wilbert Ellis, who later became GSU’s head coach and is a College Baseball Hall of Famer.
“Even at a young age you could see his determination — his desire to be the best,” Ellis said. “He had great speed and great talent, and he had the work ethic to develop his talent and put it all together.
“Ralph had great vision. He could hit tough pitches to hit because he had great hand-eye coordination. He had a real sweet swing, and could be surprisingly powerful.”
But later, Ellis still had to talk then Grambling President and head baseball coach Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones into giving Garr a chance.
“I told Prez (Jones) about Garr, but Prez said he was too small,” Ellis said. “Prez wanted another player, but that player didn’t stick. Ralph Garr did.”
The man who would later be nicknamed “Roadrunner” admitted it was his speed that earned him the opportunity to become a G-Man.
“The other boys (Grambling) liked were stronger and more powerful than me,” Garr said. “I was a singles hitter, and I could run a little faster than the others.”
Garr didn’t get many opportunities his first two seasons as a Tiger because Grambling had so much talent ahead of him.
But when he got his chance his final two seasons, Garr made the most of the opportunity.
Garr set a single-season record with a .582 batting average as a senior, helping the Tigers go 33-1 and finish in third place at the NAIA World Series.
He batted 57-of-98 with 20 extra base hits (including 11 triples) during that 1967 season along with 46 runs scored, 31 RBI and 12 steals to earn NAIA All-American honors.
Garr was given his nickname his first full season in the majors in 1971.
Fans in Atlanta loved Ralph Garr so much that the Braves even worked with Warner Bros. Cartoons to be able to use scenes of the Looney Tunes character Road Runner on the scoreboard and created a special calliope behind right field that would even go “beep-beep” every time Garr reached first base.
By the end of that season, Garr’s batting average was .343. This was the second-best in the NL, just behind Joe Torre. He also scored a career-high 101 runs.
In December of 1975, the Braves traded Garr to the Chicago White Sox.
He was traded to the California Angels in 1979, where he ended his Major League baseball career in June of 1980 after playing in 1317 games and recording a lifetime batting average of .306 with 1,562 hits, 717 runs, 172 stolen bases and 75 home runs.
Garr would later make many appearances at GSU and other north Louisiana region colleges working in scouting and player development for the Braves under the mentorship of Aaron, who was serving as a Senior Vice President for Atlanta.
“Even after his playing career ended, Ralph has always been good to Grambling,” Ellis said. “He’s been good to me coming out and helping with my baseball camps for so long now.
“Ralph is just a special person and worked hard for all his achievements while staying humble. I’m proud to see his jersey get retired. He’s truly earned that honor in so many different ways.”
