RIP Jim "Mudcat" Grant
He passed away recently at 85. Quite a life not only as a pitcher but also as the founder of "Mudcat and the Kittens," a song and dance group that played at nightclubs during the off-season.
Never knew how he got his nickname until I read his obit. It states that Mudcat was the informal name given to large catfish found in muddy streams. At an Indians tryout camp in 1954 his teammates started calling him Mississippi Mudcat. He told them he was born and raised in Florida. But they didn't care. The name stuck. And he had no problem with it. It served him well, he said.
A civil rights advocate also. Thank you, Mudcat, and RIP.
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