Richard Benjamin Ferrell (October 12, 1905 – July 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive.

He played for 18 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1929 through 1947 for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Senators.

His brother, Wes Ferrell, was a major league pitcher for 15 seasons, and they were teammates from 1933 through part of 1938 on the Red Sox and Senators.

[7] During the season, he personally asked Detroit's owner, Frank Navin, if the organization had a plan in place to bring him up to the Tigers.

[7] When the season concluded, another Columbus catcher, Hugh McMullen, was called up to the major leagues, but to the Cincinnati Reds instead of the Tigers.

[7] After reading through his contract, he believed he was being unfairly held in the minor leagues, so he petitioned the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, to grant him a hearing.

[8][9] It was discovered that Columbus owner, Joseph Carr, had been shopping Ferrell's contract, receiving offers as high as $50,000 (equivalent to $887,000 in 2023), though none were formally presented on paper.

After the Commissioner completed his investigation, he determined that the Tigers and Reds had colluded to keep Ferrell in the minor leagues, and directed Carr to shop for buyers.

[8] This was a common, although illegal, practice during this era, so Landis declared Ferrell a free agent, allowing him to sign a contract with any team he chose, except the Tigers.

[16] Despite the Red Sox' seventh-place finish, Ferrell ranked 12th in voting for the 1933 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

[1] Rick ended the year with a .297 batting average and led the league's catchers in fielding percentage and in putouts and finished second in assists.

[21] In June 1937, Ferrell was hitting for a .308 batting average when he was traded to the Washington Senators along with his brother and Mel Almada for pitcher Bobo Newsom and outfielder Ben Chapman.

[2][23] In 1942, the 36-year-old Ferrell shared catching duties with Frankie Hayes as the Browns improved to an 82–69 won-loss record to finish the year in third place.

[1] Dutch Leonard, Johnny Niggeling, Roger Wolff, and Mickey Haefner all threw the notoriously difficult-to-catch knuckleball, making Ferrell the first catcher in major league history to accomplish the feat.

[1] Although Ferrell led the league in passed balls due to the unpredictability of the knuckleball, he was still named to his seventh All-Star Game.

[2] The Senators ended the season in last place while Ferrell's former team, the St. Louis Browns won the 1944 American League pennant.

[28] In the final week of the 1945 season, the Senators came within 1+1⁄2 games of winning the American League pennant, ultimately clinched by the Detroit Tigers.

[2] An eight-time All-Star with a strong throwing arm, he led American League catchers four times in baserunners caught stealing, and twice in assists and putouts.