John Stephenson: Former Mets Catcher Who Caught Nolan Ryan's First Game (1964-1966)

John Herman Stephenson was born on April 13, 1941, in South Portsmouth, Kentucky. The educated Stephenson earned a degree at William Carey College, in Mississippi. 

In 1963 the five foot eleven left-handed hitting catcher went from A ball right up to the Mets big league team in 1964.

Mets Career- 1964: Stephenson made the club out of Spring Training and appeared as a pinch hitter in the 5-3 Opening Day loss. 

On April 17th, in the first game ever played at Shea Stadium John struck out as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning of the 4-3 loss to the Pirates. 

 Stephenson would appear mostly as a pinch hitter & in 14 games at third base, but he didn’t hit much. 

Trivia: On Father’s Day 1964 he was the final out of Jim Bunnings's perfect game pitched against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

First Career HR: On June 29th, Stephenson's was playing at third base & batting in the leadoff spot in a game in San Franciso. He led off the game with a lead off HR off the Giants Bobby Bolin in a 4-3 Mets victory.

By July he was batting .158 & was sent back to AAA Buffalo where he hit .298 the rest of the season, playing at catcher, outfield & at third base. 

1965: Stephenson batted .235 at AAA Buffalo & was brought up to the Mets in late June. He was one of the six catchers' that Mets managers Casey Stengel & later Wes Westrum used for the ’65 Mets.

'65 Mets Catchers Trivia: The cast of catchers that were used at one time or another were Chris Cannizzaro, Jesse Gonder, Jimmy Schaffer, Greg Gossen & player/coach Yogi Berra in his brief five come back out of retirement. 

Walk Off Hit: On July 23rd, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Stephenson hit a walk off RBI single off the Phillies Jack Baldschun to beat Philadelphia 3-2. 

Walk Off Hit #2: On August 24th, in the bottom of the 9th inning of a 3-3 tie with the Dodgers, Stephenson came in pitch hit with the bases loaded. He cleared the bases with a three run double off former Met Bob Miller for the exciting walk off win.

Multi HR Game: On September 16th in Cincinnati, John hit two HRs off the Reds John Tsitouris in an 7-3 Mets win at Crosley Field, having the only multi-HR game of his career.

For the last place 1965 Mets, John played in 62 games, batting .215 with 26 hits 5 doubles 4 HRs & 15 RBIs. He struck out 19 times walked 8 times with a .264 on base % & .619 OPS. He caught 47 games behind the plate, throwing out 29% of would-be base stealers. 

1966: John spent the entire season with the Mets playing in 66 games, 52 at catcher & one in the outfield.

On August 4th, with the Mets down 6-1 to the Giants at Shea Stadium, Stephenson hit an 8th inning two run HR off  Juan Marichal. John began the comeback rally in the game that the Mets eventually won on a three-run walk off HR by on Swoboda. It was a big game for the Mets as it was almost impossible for them to beat Mr. Marichal in their early years.

Nolan Ryan's Debut: On September 11th, 1966, Stephenson entered a game against the Braves in the 5th inning, pinch hitting for Dick Selma. He remained in the game replacing Jerry Grote at catcher. In the top of the 6th inning, a young rookie pitcher named Nolan Ryan took the mound in his MLB debut with Stephenson being his batterymate behind the plate.

Stephenson made history catching the first strike out of Ryan’s career, as pitcher Pat Jarvis was the first K of a record 5714 strike outs. Two batters later, Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews struck out looking at a blazing fastball as the second K of Ryan's career. 

Legend has it that when Eddie Mathews first saw Ryan's fast ball he turned to Stephenson saying, “what the hell was that!”  

Stephenson recalls another early Nolan Ryan story during a work out practice.

Quotes- John Stephenson: "It was me, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, scout Red Murff & Nolan Ryan. They told him to throw a fastball, but he didn't tell me. He hit me on the left side of my collarbone & I had to miss a week of play."

In 1966 Stephenson hit just .196 with three extra base hits a HR & 11 RBIs.

 

In June he was traded to the Chicago Cubs to complete an earlier trade. 

Post Mets Career: Over the next seven years he would spend time between the minors & majors playing with the Chicago Cubs (1967-1968) San Francisco Giants (1969-1970) & California Angels (1971-1973). 

Angels Career: In 1971 John played in a career high 90 games, batting .219 with three HRs & 25 RBIs.

Reunion With Nolan Ryan: In 1972 Stephenson was again reunited with Nolan Ryan after he too was traded by the Mets to the Angels. Throughout the season the two would be battery mates at various times.

On May 30th in their first game back working together, Ryan threw a seven-hit shutout over the White Sox striking out ten. 

Nolan Ryan One Hit 16 K Game: On July 9th, Stephenson was behind the plate in Anaheim as Ryan threw a one hitter, striking out 16 Red Sox in a 3-0 win over Boston. 

On July 27th, 1972 Ryan struck out 14 Texas Rangers pitching a two-hit shutout in Anaheim, with Stephenson once again behind the plate. 

In 1973, Stephenson played out his final season. 

Career Stats: In his ten-season career he batted .216 with 214 hits 37 doubles 3 triples 12 HRs & 93 RBIs He struck out 118 times with 63 walks, a 271 on base % & .567 OPS.

He caught 330 games with a .986 fielding %, 116 assists 14 double plays, making 21 errors & throwing out 29% of base stealers.

Retirement: After his playing days he became a long-time coach, At first, he coached college baseball, at his alma mater, William Carey College (1974-1985). He then moved on to Southeastern Louisiana University (1985-1990).

In the mid-1990's John came back to the New York Mets organization, managing the A ball Gulf Coast Mets (1995/ 1998-1999) & then the Kingsport Mets where he finished in first place (1996). John then moved on to the Capitol City Bombers (1997 & 2000).