Frank Elton Snyder (May 27, 1895 – January 5, 1962), was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1912 to 1927 for the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.^[1] Nicknamed Pancho, Snyder was of Mexican descent on his mother's side.^[2]

Snyder began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1912 at the age of 18.^[1] He was traded to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1919 season.^[3] Snyder was a member of John McGraw's New York Giants teams that won four consecutive National League pennants between 1921 and 1924 and played on two World Series winners in 1921 and 1922.^[1]

Snyder also homered in the final game of the 1923 World Series, but the Yankees staged a comeback to defeat the Giants.

During that period, Snyder posted a batting average above .300 three times, with a .320 average in 1921, a .343 average in 1922 and a .302 average in 1924.^[1] Snyder hit the first major league home run in the history of Braves Field in 1922.^[4] It was the first home run hit in the seven seasons played at the cavernous ballpark. In 1926, he was selected off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals.^[1] He played for the Cardinals in 1927 before retiring at the end of the season at the age of 33.^[1]

In a sixteen-year major league career, Snyder played in 1,392 games, accumulating 1,122 hits in 4,229 at bats for a .265 career batting average along with 44 triples, 47 home runs and 525 runs batted in.^[1] A good defensive player, his .981 career fielding average was 8 points higher than the league average over the span of his playing career.^[1] Snyder led National League catchers in fielding percentage three times: in 1914, 1923 and 1925.^[5] He also led the league twice in putouts and caught stealing percentage and, once in assists and in baserunners caught stealing.^[1] His 204 assists as a catcher in 1915 is the seventh highest single-season total in major league baseball history.^[6] His 1,332 career assists rank him 17th all-time among major league catchers.^[7]

Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research devised an unscientific study that ranked Snyder as the ninth-most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.^[8] His reputation as a defensive standout is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs.^[9]

After his playing career, he served as a coach for the New York Giants, and was a minor league manager.^[10]