George Louis Scales (August 16, 1900 - April 15, 1976), nicknamed "Tubby", 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 ...

second baseman and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in Negro league baseball, most notably with the New York Lincoln Giants and

Baltimore Elite Giants The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues from to . The team was established by Tom Wilson (Negro baseball), Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nash ...

. Born in

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

, he batted .319 over a 25-year career during which he played several positions. He also managed for twelve seasons in the

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

, winning six pennants, and led the

Caribbean World Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

champions in .

Buck Leonard Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball and in the Mexican League. After growing up in North Carolina, he played for the Homestead Grays between 1934 and 1950, ...

claimed that George Scales was the best

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

hitter he ever saw. At age 52, Scales received votes listing him on the 1952 ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

'' player-voted poll of the Negro leagues' best players ever."1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players"
/ref> After retiring from baseball in 1958, he became a stockbroker. He died at age 75 in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. Scales was among 39 final candidates considered for the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

's Class of 2006 by the Committee on African-American Baseball, however he was not among the 17 elected. On November 5, 2021, he was selected to the final ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Early Days Committee for consideration in the Class of 2022. He received eight of the necessary twelve votes."Fowler, Hodges, Kaat, Miñoso, Oliva, O'Neil Elected to Hall of Fame"
baseballhall.org. December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
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Seamheads
Philadelphia Stars players Newark Stars players People from Talladega, Alabama Caribbean Series managers Negro league baseball managers 1900 births 1976 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople Baseball infielders {{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub