Edwards was a durable, strong-armed, take-charge catcher whose intelligence matched his fine physical ability. A 6’4″ 220-lb graduate of Ohio State, he set a ML season record for catcher’s total chances (helped by a pitching staff of strikeout artists) with 1,221 in 1969, his first year with Houston. When he retired five years later, he held the NL career record for total chances by a catcher (9,745), since broken by Johnny Bench. Edwards won two Gold Gloves. As a rookie playing in the 1961 New York-Cincinnati World Series, he hit .364. He batted a career-high .281 for the 1964 Reds and had his best HR season in 1965 with 17.
