For those watched the Braves play at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during the early 1970s, the sound of “beep-beep’’ was a very familiar one. The noise is commonly associated with the Looney Tunes “Road Runner’’ cartoon, which featured the memorable yet sad Wile E. Coyote.
But this beep-beep was played after every hit for one of the Braves’ more popular players, who would finish his career a .306 hitter including a National League-best .353 in 1974.
No. 44 Hank Aaron wasn’t the only one putting fans in the seats, so was speedy teammate Ralph Garr, becoming one of the league’s best singles hitters and an overall fun player to watch. Former Los Angeles Times writer Jim Murray once wrote “Garr is as hard to get out as an impacted tooth.’’
Garr grew up in Ruston, La., and was a star on the Lincoln High School baseball team, where Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard threw his first no-hitter. But with a large family and not much money, Garr thought he was going to have to go to work straight after high school. However, the summer after graduation, he played on an all-star team that went to play Grambling State University, and the coach there liked Garr and offered him a scholarship.
It was a brilliant move, as Garr tore it up in college. As a senior and second baseman for the Tigers, he led the team and the NAIA with a .585 average, and Grambling went 35-1 and 103-11 during his career. That season and along with the fact that he was put in the Sports Illustrated’s popular “Faces In The Crowd,”Garr was drafted in the third round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft by the Braves.
He was sent straight to Double-A Austin where he began what is still a close relationship with now-Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker, who had just graduated from high school. Garr did well in the Texas League, showing great speed and the next season after stealing 32 bases with Double-A Shreveport, he received a September call-up to Atlanta and was invited to spring training in 1969. He began the season as the everyday left fielder when Rico Carty hurt his shoulder, but was then optioned to Triple-A Richmond when Carty came back. At Richmond, he hit .329 in the International League and stole 63 bases in 106 games.
In 1970, Garr made the major league team again, but was sent back to Richmond, where he led the International League with a then league-record .386 average and stole 39 bases. Finally, the next season when Carty hurt his left knee in winter ball, Garr found a spot in Atlanta for good. Perhaps his biggest game ever came that season when against the Mets and Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, when he hit a solo home run to tie the score in the 10th and then a walk-off homer to win it in the 12th.
Then-Braves public relations director Bob Hope came up with the idea of putting the Looney Tunes character Road Runner on the scoreboard and thus came the “beep-beep.’’
Garr finished the season with a .343 average, second to leader Joe Torre of the Cardinals. He also stole 30 bases.
Garr, 12 years younger than Aaron, had become very close with the superstar and routinely was seen in front of his locker, getting hitting pointers from the one of the greatest players ever. He also benefited from the fact that every winter since college he had gone over to the winter league in the Dominican Republic, where he also was a star.
Garr, however, always struggled in the field and lost his job when Carty came back in 1972, but he still played in 134 games that season and hit .325, this time second to Billy Williams of the Cubs, and swiped 25 bases.
He hit .299 in 1973 and was almost traded to Philadelphia in a deal that would have brought Larry Bowa to the Braves. But the trade fell through at the last moment and Garr had his best season in ’74, the year Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. Garr was on base in Cincinnati when Aaron hit No. 714 to tie Ruth, and he won the batting title with a .353 average and led the league in hits (214) and triples (17). He stole a career-high 35 bases and made what would be his only All-Star game appearance.
Then things started to turn sour between Garr and the Braves. He felt like he was not treated fairly at contract time after his batting title, asking for a raise to $114,500 while the Braves countered at $85,000. Garr got his money through arbitration but his average fell to .278 in 1975 and along with infielder Larvell Blanks was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Dick Ruthven, Ozzie Osborn and Ken Henderson.
Paul Richards, who had been the Braves’ general manager, was now the manager of the White Sox and always liked Garr. There, with White Sox owner Bill Veeck putting everything in from exploding scoreboards to making his players wear short pants during games, Garr hit .300 in 1976 again the next season. He struggled in ’78, his average falling to .275 and then came Tony La Russa as the White Sox manager and Garr’s days were numbered. Also, after the memorable Disco Demolition Night in Chicago which tore up the outfield at Comiskey Park, Garr injured his right knee and was never the same as late in the season his contract was sold to the California Angels where he was released on June 6, 1980 and retired.
He played in 1,317 games with 1,562 hits in 5,108 at-bats (.306), including 212 doubles, 64 triples and 172 stolen bases.
Where he lives: Garr lives outside Houston in the town of Richmond and has been married to Ruby for 48 years. He had three girls, Keisha, Shonta and Rae and a son, Ralph Jr.
What he does now: Garr, 70, continues to scout for the Braves, which he has done now for 32 years.
On going to Gambling: "I didn't have many options. I wasn't one of kids in the family that was supposed to go to college. But when I went up to Grambling on this team and played them, they liked me. I love Grambling as they gave me so much. I know Henry Aaron just went back to Grambling to help them raise money, and he raised $70,000 in one night.''
On being drafted by the Braves: "I couldn't believe it that I was suddenly was in pro baseball and sent straight to Class AA. That is where I met Dusty Baker, and we have been great friends ever since. Hank was so good to Dusty and I. He really took care of us.''
On being Aaron's teammate: "Not a better man in the game. He took Dusty and I under his wing and taught us so much about the game of baseball. He would always tell us if we did something that got us to the majors, than keep doing it.
On being on base for Aaron's home run No. 714 to tie Ruth: "I think about that a lot. I just wish I would have been on base when he broke the record. But I was in the dugout like everyone else pulling big-time for him. He was so deserving of it. There were a lot of people that didn't want him to hit it and were nasty about it. But he never complained. Dusty and I spent a lot of time around Hank then. He just went out there and got the job done. He has to be the nicest person I know.''
On his batting title in '74: Well, I had gotten pretty close a couple of times. I always felt like when it came to hitting, I could do a lot with the bat.''
On being called "The Road Runner": "Our PR guy Bob Hope came up with all that and got the license to put it on the scoreboard. I always got a big kick out of it. It was fun, it was always fun out there.''
On being traded to the White Sox: "I wasn't mad about it, and it made sense as Paul Richards was there. But I always wanted to get back to Atlanta which I did after my career was over.''
On his 40-plus years on the Braves' payroll: "That's pretty amazing if you think about it. The scouting part has been a thrill, still is and I love going out and finding players. It has been a lot of fun scouting kids where I played with their father's. And also seeing the young kids when I played such as Ken Griffey Jr., who was this little bitty kid and now is a Hall of Famer. And I will have to say, with the success I had on the field and as a scout, I owe a lot of it, probably most of it, to Hank Aaron.''
