Ray Fosse Traditional Cache

A quick P&G at a park named after a former major league baseball player born in Marion.  The park is busy in the summer, so watch for muggles! Stay and watch a game or play some miniature golf. FTF trackable and Busch Stadium Commemorative pin. If you take something, please leave something of greater value to keep this a good find.

The park is the busiest in town, but who is Ray Fosse?  

Raymond Earl Fosse (born April 4, 1947 in Marion, Illinois) is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was drafted in the first round of the 1965 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians. Fosse also holds the distinction of being the Indians' first ever draft pick, as 1965 was the first year of the Major League Baseball Draft.  He has been a television and radio broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics since 1986.

Fosse's career was one marked by numerous injuries. Fosse joined the Cleveland Indians in 1970, and in the first half of the year, Ray posted a .313 batting average with 16 home runs and 45 runs batted in. He hit in 23 consecutive games beginning June 9, the longest American League hitting streak since 1961. The manager for the American League in the 1970 All-Star Game, Earl Weaver, rewarded Fosse with a reserve role on the team.  Arguably, Ray Fosse is most famous for being bowled over by the Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose at home plate in the last play of the 1970 All-Star Game. Rose scored the winning run, while the collision separated Fosse's right shoulder. Initial x-ray reports revealed no fractures or other damages, and it wasn't until the following year, with the injured area still bothering him, it was discovered he had sustained a fractured and separated shoulder which healed incorrectly. Fosse went on to play 42 games in the second half of the season, hitting .297 and winning the American League Gold Glove Award. Rose asserted he was simply trying to win the game; however, he was widely criticized by some for over-aggressiveness in what essentially was an exhibition game. In a twist of fate, when Rose was sentenced to five months in prison for tax evasion, he was sent to the US penitentiary in Marion, Fosse's hometown. Rose never apologized to Fosse for the incident.

In a 12 year career, Fosse played in 924 games, accumulating 758 hits in 2957 at bats for a .256 career batting average along with 61 home runs and 324 runs batted in. He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage. Fosse led American League catchers in 1970 with 854 putouts, 48 baserunners caught stealing and in range factor (7.81). In 1971 he led the league with 73 assists, and in 1973, he led American League catchers in baserunners caught stealing and in caught stealing percentage.  Fosse was a member of two World Series Champion clubs: the 1973 and 1974 A's, and also a member of the inaugural Seattle Mariners team that began playing in 1977. He won Gold Glove Awards in 1970 and 1971. Fosse was named to the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians in 2001.