NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- Former Major League catcher Ray Katt, known for his compassion and competitive spirit while coach at Texas Lutheran, has died at age 72 of lymphoma.

"The way Coach Katt carried himself you would never know that he played with guys like Willie Mays and Stan Musial," said current TLU baseball coach Bill Miller.

"He coached for all the right reasons -- for the players," Miller said.

Katt played for the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1952 to 1959, and finished with a .232 career average with 32 home runs and 120 RBI.

He was a member of the Leo Durocher-managed Giants that swept the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series.

He also coached for St. Louis and Cleveland before retiring from the professional ranks in 1963.

After coaching high school baseball in his native New Braunfels, Katt was the head coach at Texas Lutheran from 1971 to 1992, compiling a record of 502-362-2.

He is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Melba, and two children, Bruce Katt of Georgetown and Sandra Serold of Victoria.

Services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Braunfels.