Samuel Andrew Leslie (July 26, 1905 – January 21, 1979), nicknamed "Sambo", was a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for

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), ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

from 1929 to 1938. A left-hander, Leslie played ten years in the Major League as a first baseman, from his debut on October 6, 1929, until his final game on September 27, 1938. He first played for the New York Giants (1929–33), during the 1933 season was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers (1933–35), and then sent back to the Giants (1936–38) where he finished out his career.

Early life

Sam Leslie was born on July 26, 1905, to Darling Bodden Leslie and Mary Anna Hamilton in

Moss Point, Mississippi Moss Point is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,147 in 2020, a decline from the figure of 13,704 in 2010. The Moss Point Historic District and several individual buildings are ...

. He was the oldest of three children having a younger sister named Thelma and brother named Cecil.

Baseball career

Sam began his professional baseball career with the

Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to: *Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960 *Memphis Chicks (Southern League) The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...

in 1927 and was the league's batting champion in 1929 with a .376 average. His Major League career began on October 6, 1929, when he joined the New York Giants, managed by

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

. During his first years with the club, he was primarily used as a pinch hitter and reserve player having the misfortune of playing behind long time Giants first baseman and Hall of Famer

Bill Terry William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 19 ...

. During the 1932 season, Leslie gained recognition by establishing a single season Major League Baseball record by collecting 22

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

s. While the record was broken in 1961, it remains the Giants' franchise single season record to this day. He also ranks second on the team's all-time pinch hit list with 57, just one behind the team record. Leslie's breakout year came in 1933 when he batted .295 with 148 hits and 73 RBIs in 136 games while playing stints for both the Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In June 1933, Leslie was traded to the

in exchange for

Lefty O'Doul Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in the establishmen ...

and Watson Clark. He became the starting first baseman and continued to excel at the plate, batting .332 with 181 hits and 102 RBIs during the 1934 season with a rare inside the park grand slam on July 6. In 1935, he batted .308 with 160 hits and 93 RBIs. In February 1936, Leslie returned to the New York Giants in exchange for cash and proceeded to split time at first base with player/manager Bill Terry. He was the only player to

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

in 1936 (on May 24) and was instrumental in the Giants winning the

National League pennant The National League pennant winner of a given Major League Baseball season is the team that wins the championship—the pennant—of MLB's National League (NL). This team receives the Warren C. Giles Trophy and the right to play in the World S ...

in both the 1936 and 1937 seasons. The team, however, lost to their cross-town rivals, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, in the World Series both years, in six games and five games, respectively. During his final tenure with the Giants, Leslie batted .290 with 221 hits and 100 RBIs from 1936 to 1938. Leslie retired from professional baseball after the 1938 season due to an injury and returned home to the

Mississippi Gulf Coast The Mississippi Gulf Coast, also known as Mississippi Coast, Mississippi Gulf Coast region, Coastal Mississippi, and The Coast, is the area of Mississippi along the Mississippi Sound at the northern extreme of the Gulf of Mexico. Geography At th ...

to help raise his family. He closed out his Major League career with a lifetime .304 batting average including 749 hits in 2,460 at-bats, 389 RBIs, and 36 home runs in 822 games. Defensively, he recorded a .989

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. During his 10 years in the Major Leagues, he had the fortune of playing with many of baseball's legends including hall of fame teammates

Mel Ott Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...

, Bill Terry, and

Travis Jackson Travis Calvin Jackson (November 2, 1903 – July 27, 1987) was an American baseball shortstop. In Major League Baseball (MLB), Jackson played for the New York Giants from 1922 through 1936, winning the 1933 World Series, and representing the Gia ...

with the Giants, as well as

Hack Wilson Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive statur ...

and

Al López Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cle ...

with the Dodgers. For his accomplishments on the field, Leslie was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1968.

Personal life

In 1927, Leslie married Etta Katherine Bosarge and had three children: Sam Jr., Dorothy Lou, and Carl. After retiring from baseball, he worked at

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...

, for 26 years. He and Etta had 13 grandchildren. In his later years, he was instrumental in starting the summer youth baseball league in Pascagoula. Leslie died on January 21, 1979, after a lengthy illness at the age of 73.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Ssm 1905 births 1979 deaths Major League Baseball first basemen New York Giants (NL) players Brooklyn Dodgers players Baseball players from Mississippi Meridian Mets players Jackson Senators players Memphis Chickasaws players Selma Cloverleafs players Toledo Mud Hens players San Antonio Indians players Jersey City Giants players

Early life

Baseball career

Personal life

See also

References

External links