Raymond Otis Boone (July 27, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American professional baseball infielder and scout who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Primarily a third baseman and shortstop, he was a two-time American League All-Star ( and ), and led his league in runs batted in with 116 in . He batted and threw right-handed and was listed as tall and . Boone was born in San Diego, California, and attended San Diego's Hoover High School. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. His son, Bob, and grandsons, Bret and Aaron, also played in MLB. Baseball career In a thirteen-year career, he hit .275 with 151 home runs and 737 runs batted in (RBIs) in 1,373 games for the Indians, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and Boston Red Sox. His 1,260 hits also included 162 doubles and 46 triples. Cleveland Indians Early career Ray Boone signed his first professional contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1942 at age 18. He received a $500 signing bonus and began playing for the Indian's Class C team in Wausau, Wisconsin. In 1942, Boone played in 89 games. He batted .306, had 41 RBIs, 13 doubles, eight triples, and four home runs. After the 1942 season, Boone enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II, putting his baseball career on hold. During the next three years, Boone served at the San Diego Naval Training Center. The training center had a baseball team, which Boone played for on the weekends alongside Bob Lemon and George Vico, both future major leaguers. Post-war In 1946, Boone played 77 games for Wilkes-Barre in the Class A Eastern League. He batted .258, producing 31 RBIs, and four home runs. During the 1947 season, the Indians transferred Boone to the Double-A Texas League in Oklahoma City. In 1947 he played in 130 games, serving as catcher for more than 100 of them. Boone batted .264, producing 48 RBIs and four home runs in 402 plate appearances. Toward the end of the 1947 season, Boone was asked to play shortstop, which he did for more than 20 games. In 1948, Boone traveled to Tucson, Arizona for the Indians’ spring training. At this time, Boone was given the option by Lou Boudreau, of being a backup shortstop in the major leagues or the starting shortstop in the minors.