Ray Cunningham, 100; Played for St. Louis Cardinals in 1930s
Ray Cunningham, 100, who played briefly with the St. Louis Cardinals, died Saturday of natural causes at a convalescent home in Pearland, Texas, a Houston suburb.
After signing with the Cardinals in 1926, Cunningham played for minor league teams in Greenville, Texas; Topeka, Kan.; Dayton, Ohio; and Danville, Ill., before he was called up to St. Louis late in the 1931 season.
He played for the Cardinals in 1931 and 11 games the next season before he was injured when he fielded a bunt and made a snap throw to first base. He later played for the Houston Buffs and for teams in Tyler and Palestine, Texas, but left pro baseball in 1934 for a career in the beverage industry.
Cunningham became an avid Houston Astros fan, and in 1992 and 2002 he was asked to throw out the first pitch at Astros-Cardinals games in Houston.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
