Vernie Floyd Speer (January 27, 1913 – March 22, 1969) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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. He was born on January 27, 1913, in

Booneville, Arkansas Booneville is a city in Logan County, Arkansas, United States and the county seat of its southern district. Located in the Arkansas River Valley between the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains, the city is one of the oldest in western Arkansas. The city' ...

. He attended Booneville High School, where he starred in baseball. His twin brother, Bernie Loyd Speer, was often his catcher. Floyd began his professional baseball career in 1938 in the now-defunct

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. He moved to play for

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 1941. At the age of 30, Speer broke into the big leagues on April 25, 1943, with the Chicago White Sox. He played his last game with the Sox on May 3, 1944. He later played for other minor league teams, including the St. Paul Saints in 1943, the

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in 1945 and the Oakland Oaks in 1946-48. Vernie Floyd Speer married Rosadell McConnell, who was also from

. Speer returned to Arkansas where he died in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

on March 22, 1969. He was 56 years old. Speers was returned to his hometown of Booneville, where he was buried in the Carolan Community Cemetery, 5 miles outside of town.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Speer, Floyd 1913 births 1969 deaths Chicago White Sox players Baseball players from Arkansas Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players People from Booneville, Arkansas Dallas Eagles players Hot Springs Bathers players Little Rock Travelers players Monroe White Sox players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Shreveport Sports players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Texarkana Bears players