4/28/2007

Know your Appleton Baseball Alumni (4/28)

Marv Foley, Appleton Foxes (1975 & 1977)



Foley was a catcher and selected in the 17th round of the 1975 draft by the Chicago White Sox out of the University of Kentucky. Foley signed and was sent right to Goodland Field. He played just six games for the Foxes before being sent to Knoxville.


He spent 1976 with Knoxville in AA, but in 1977 he came back to Appleton. Foley would hit .242 in 48 games with three homers for the Foxes. He would head back to Knoxville and eventually Triple A Iowa later that season.


Foley began the 1978 season with Iowa and got the call from the White Sox as a September callup. On September 11 at Comiskey Park, Foley pinch hit for Mike Colbern for his first major league appearance. He would get into eleven games that season and pick up 12 hits in 34 at bats.


For the next two seasons, Foley bounced back and forth between Iowa and Chicago. In 1981, he spent the entire season with Edmonton in Triple-A. Then, in 1982 he appeared in just 27 games for the Sox. At the end of that season, he went the free agent route to the Rangers but did not play in Texas until 1984. He made his final major league appearance as a pinch hitter for Curt Wilkerson on September 30. He grounded out to end the game, a 1-0 Texas loss to the Angels. But, that was a history making out. It was the last out of Mike Whitt's perfect game.


After his playing days were over, Foley went the managerial route in the minor leagues. He won league championships for Rochester (and won Manager of the Year) in 1997 in the International League. He was the Iowa Cubs manager when they won the American Association title in 1993. Vancouver won the PCL title in 1989 with Foley at the helm


Foley also played in the Senior Professional baseball league in 1990.


Most recently, Foley has managed Newark in the Atlantic League and Colorado Springs in the PCL. At last report, he is the roving catching instructor in the Rockies organization.








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