Twin brothers Russ and Roy Nixon were both signed by the Indians, but only Russ made it to the majors. He batted a career-high .301 as the Indians’ regular catcher in 1958. In 1960, he was twice traded from Cleveland to Boston; the original March deal was called off when Sammy White refused to report, but a second trade was completed in June. Often felled by injuries, Nixon appeared in nearly a quarter of his ML games as a pinch hitter. A longtime resident of the Cincinnati area, he managed in the Reds’ farm system from 1970 to 1975, joined their ML coaching staff in 1976, and replaced John McNamara as ML manager in July of 1982. Dismissed after a last-place 1983 finish, he coached for the Expos and Braves and then was named Braves manager in 1989.
