Solomon Louis Drake (October 23, 1930 – August 18, 2021) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) with the Chicago Cubs,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, and Philadelphia Phillies during the 1956 and 1959 baseball seasons, totaling 141 games played. Drake and his brother,

Sammy Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter * Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter * Sammy Davis Jr. ...

, were the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

siblings to play in the big leagues. Solly Drake was a switch hitter who threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, and was listed as tall, weighing .

Early life and career

Born in

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

, he graduated from Dunbar High School. Later that year, Drake began his baseball career when he joined the Elmwood Giants of the

Mandak League The Manitoba-Dakota League was an independent baseball league based in Manitoba and North Dakota that was founded in 1950. It became the home for many African-American and Latino players. The league lasted through the 1957 season. It was known i ...

as a 17-year-old outfielder; he returned for two more seasons, in Manitoba. A .300 hitter with Elmwood in 1950, Drake was signed before the 1951 season by the Chicago Cubs, as an amateur free agent. He spent that year with the Class C Topeka Owls, a minor league Cubs affiliate. The

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

interrupted his career for two years with Drake spending 1951 through 1953, in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. Following his military service, he completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

, at

Philander Smith College Philander Smith College is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Philander Smith College is accredited by ...

, and returned to minor league baseball in time for the 1954 season, with the Class A

Des Moines Bruins Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball based in Des Moines, Iowa. The team played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Pioneer Memorial Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs (1947–1957) and ...

Major league career

In April 1956, at the age of 25, Drake made his major league debut, with the Cubs. That same year, he also played with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

, and the Triple-A (AAA) St. Paul Saints. During the off-season, Drake played winter league in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, from 1957–1959. He was named the

1957 Caribbean Series The ninth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1957. It was held from February 9 through February 14, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Tigres de Marianao; Panama, Cerveza Balboa; Puerto Rico, Indios d ...

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, after leading Cuba's Tigres de Marianao to the championship. In 1958, Drake led the International League in several offensive categories, earning him a return to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL), playing with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, in 1959. He announced his retirement from professional baseball, following the 1961 season. Drake's younger brother,

Sammy Drake Samuel Harrison Drake (October 7, 1934 – January 27, 2010) was a Major League Baseball second and third baseman. He played two seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1961 and one season with the expansion 1962 New York Mets. Sammy and h ...

, was also a professional player, who spent two MLB seasons with the Cubs and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. The

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 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 basebal ...

states that the Drake brothers, Solly and Sammy, were the first African-American siblings to play in the majors in the 20th century.

Death

Drake died on August 18, 2021. He was 90 years old.Dodger Blue.com. "Former Dodgers Outfielder Solly Drake Passes Away." https://dodgerblue.com/former-dodgers-outfielder-solly-drake-passes-away/2021/08/20/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Solly 1930 births 2021 deaths African-American baseball players Baseball players from Arkansas Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Des Moines Bruins players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Montreal Royals players Philadelphia Phillies players Philander Smith Panthers baseball players Portland Beavers players Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Topeka Owls players Elmwood Giants players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baptists from Arkansas African-American Baptist ministers 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people