Infielder 'Connie' Ryan Iii, N.O. Baseball Legend, Dies Times Picayune 01-4-1996 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Cornelius Joseph "Connie" Ryan III, a former major league baseball player, manager, coach and scout, died Wednesday of a heart attack at East Jefferson General Hospital. He was 75. Mr. Ryan, an infielder, spent 13 years in the major leagues and was on the Boston Braves team that went to the 1948 World Series. In 1944, he was named to the National League All-Star team. He was a coach for the Milwaukee Braves team that went to the 1957 Series and was a coach, scout and manager in the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves organizations. He also scouted for the Houston Astros and the Kansas City- Oakland Athletics. He was credited with finding Vida Blue, who became a star pitcher for the Athletics. Mr. Ryan was considered one of the finest athletes to come out of New Orleans. He was a football, baseball and basketball letterman at Jesuit High School in the 1930s and was the first person to receive a full baseball scholarship at Louisiana State University. In his sophomore year, he left LSU to play for the Atlanta Crackers, a minor league team. In 1941, the Crackers sold him to the New York Giants, where the 22-year-old rookie got to play with fellow Louisianian Mel Ott, the Gretna- born Hall of Famer. "It was a thrill to play on the same team with Ott," he once said. "I was always a fan of his." During World War II, Mr. Ryan was in the Navy, serving in the Pacific. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. His lifetime totals included a .248 batting average and 56 home runs. He was a member of the executive board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the New Orleans Diamond Club and the Major League Players Association. He was elected to the New Orleans and Louisiana Sports Halls of Fame. He was active in St. Mary Magdalen and St. Clement of Rome Catholic churches. Survivors include his wife, Lorraine Chalona Streckfus Ryan; two daughters, Sharon Ryan Rodi and Robyn Ryan Popiolek; two sons, Cornelius J. Ryan IV and Albert Conway Ryan; a sister, Violet Ryan Taylor; two brothers, Terrence Aloysius Ryan and Daniel Bruno Ryan; six grandchildren; and a great- grandchild. A Mass will be said Friday at noon at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will be today from 6 to 9 p.m. and Friday after 10 a.m. Burial will be in Metairie Cemetery.