Lollar, a quiet workhorse who led by example, was the White Sox catcher through the “Go-Go” years. This was ironic since he was painfully slow. But he was a dangerous hitter with good power and was outstanding on defense. He led AL backstops four times in fielding and his .992 career average ranks in the top five all-time. In 1962 he equaled the ML record by catching six pop-ups in one game.
Lollar came up with the Indians in 1946 but was traded to the Yankees that December in the deal that sent Gene Bearden to Cleveland. After he put in two years of backup work in New York, the Browns acquired him in one of their many deals with the Yankees. In 1952 an eight-player deal brought him to Chicago, where he appeared in over 100 games for ten straight seasons.
On April 23, 1955 he became the third major leaguer in history to collect two hits in one inning twice in the same game. He slugged a pair of homers and had five RBI as the Sox defeated Kansas City 29-6. His best season was 1959. He hit 22 homers and had 84 RBI while handling Sox pitchers faultlessly as Chicago won its first pennant in 40 years.
