Joe Hicks Tipton (February 18, 1922 – March 1, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1948 through 1954 with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and the Washington Senators. In 417 career games, Tipton recorded a batting average of .236 and accumulated 29 home runs, and 125 runs batted in (RBI). Born and raised in Georgia, Tipton played amateur baseball until the Cleveland Indians signed him. He spent two years in the minor leagues before serving in World War II. He played two more years in the minor leagues upon his return, then made his MLB debut with the Indians in 1948. The Indians traded him to the White Sox in 1949, then the White Sox sent him to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950. Tipton spent two and a half years with the Athletics before returning to Cleveland. After spending a season with the Washington Senators, he played and managed in the minor leagues for a few seasons before being banned from the minor leagues. After the ban, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama where he died in 1994. Early life and career Tipton was born and raised in McCaysville, Georgia as the fifth of seven children. His birthplace was on the Tennessee border, so it was originally registered as Copperhill, Tennessee. Tipton attended Epworth High School and Copperhill High School in Tennessee, where he played on the high school basketball and football teams. He moved to Shannon, Georgia at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in baseball. Tipton began his playing career in the Textile League with Brighton Mills in Shannon in 1938, and spent the next three years with the Talladega team. While with Talladega, he was spotted by a scout from the Cleveland Indians organization, who signed Tipton to a professional contract. After being signed by the Indians, Tipton made his professional debut with the Appleton Papermakers of the Wisconsin State League, where he had a .298 batting average and 11 home runs in 59 games. He spent most of the year there, and played in ten games with the Flint Arrows of the Michigan State League. In 1942, Tipton was promoted to the Charleston Senators, the Indians' Class C minor league affiliate. In one of his first games with the Senators, Tipton hit two triples and a home run