Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-Star, Bailey was one of the top catchers in the National League in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Strawberry Plains in Jefferson County, Tennessee, Bailey batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was listed as tall and . A younger brother, Jim, was a left-handed pitcher who had a brief big-league trial as Ed's teammate on the 1959 Cincinnati Reds. Major League career Ed Bailey signed with the Reds in 1950 as an amateur free agent. He reached the Majors in 1953 and in 1955 he was given a chance as the Redlegs' (the Cincinnati team's nickname from 1953 to 1958) starting catcher, replacing Andy Seminick. When his offensive production floundered, the Redlegs traded Seminick for catcher Smoky Burgess and Bailey was sent down to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League. With the help of some batting advice from Redlegs manager and former catcher Birdie Tebbetts, his hitting improved in the minor leagues and continued to improve in the Venezuelan Winter League. Bailey began the 1956 season as the backup catcher to Burgess, but when the team faltered early in the season, Tebbetts decided to shake things up and named Bailey as the Redlegs' starting catcher. By mid-season, he was the leading hitter in the National League with a .335 batting average, helping to spur the Redlegs into first place. His hitting performance earned him a place as the starting catcher for the National League in the 1956 All-Star Game. The Redlegs stayed in the pennant race until the last day of the season, ending up with a 91–63 record, two games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. Bailey ended the 1956 season with career-highs in batting average (.300), home runs (28), runs batted in (75), and led the league in baserunners caught stealing (23). In 1957, the Redlegs were once again in first place at mid-season, but faltered to finish the season in fourth place. Bailey earned his second consecutive start for the National League All-Star Team, led National League catchers with a 46.2 Caught Stealing percentage and finished second to Roy Campanella with a .992 fielding percentage. He remained as the Reds' starting catcher for the