Lonnie Summers (August 2, 1915 – August 24, 1999), nicknamed "Carl", was an American
Negro league infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
from the 1930s to the 1950s.
A native of
Davis, Oklahoma, Summers attended
Jacob Riis High School in
Los Angeles, California. A strong hitter known for his powerful line drives,
he made his Negro leagues debut in 1938 with the
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 ...
. Summers played several years in the
Mexican League, and served in the
United States Army in
World War II.
After his wartime service, Summers played for the
Chicago American Giants
The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Fo ...
, and was selected to play in the 1949
East–West All-Star Game
The East–West All-Star Game was an annual all-star game for Negro league baseball players. The game was the brainchild of Gus Greenlee, owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 1933 he decided to emulate the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, usi ...
. He also played several seasons in the minor leagues, including the 1952 and 1953 seasons with the
San Diego Padres of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
.
Summers died in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
in 1999 at age 84.
References
External links
an
Seamheads* Lonnie Summers a
Negro League Baseball Players Association
1915 births
1999 deaths
Baltimore Elite Giants players
Chicago American Giants players
United States Army personnel of World War II
African Americans in World War II
Baseball infielders
African-American United States Army personnel
{{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub