Sammy Charles White (July 7, 1927 – August 4, 1991) was a

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), ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and right-handed batter who played with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1951–59), Milwaukee Braves (1961) and Philadelphia Phillies (1962). He was a solid defensive catcher, with a good arm and the ability to get the most out of a Boston pitching staff that included

Mel Parnell Melvin Lloyd Parnell (June 13, 1922 – March 20, 2012) was a professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he threw and batted left-handed. Playing career Parne ...

Ellis Kinder Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series '' ...

Bill Monbouquette William Charles Monbouquette (August 11, 1936 – January 25, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1958–65), Detroit Tigers (19 ...

, Mike Fornieles and Frank Sullivan. White was born in

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. A college baseball player and All-American college basketball player at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, he signed his first professional baseball contract with the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initi ...

of the Pacific Coast League in 1949. After the 1949 minor league season ended, the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

asked White to join their

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

team. But the Red Sox, who had acquired White's contract during 1949, were furious and prevented White from doing that. On June 11, 1952, White hit a ninth-inning grand slam off of Satchel Paige, turning a 9–7 deficit into an 11–9 walkoff victory over the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. After rounding third base, White dropped to the ground and crawled to home, kissing the plate. An All-Star in 1953, White enjoyed his best season with the bat in 1954, hitting .282 with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 75

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs). In a May 1, 1955, game against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, White ruined Bob Feller's no-hitter with a single in the 7th inning. Feller posted a 2–0 shutout, and set a major league record with his 12th one-hitter in that game. After nine productive years in Boston, White was traded to the Cleveland Indians just before the outset of the 1960 season. But White balked at the trade (even though Cleveland was a pennant contender and the Red Sox were an also-ran at the time) and retired, sitting out the season. Granted his release, he played for the Braves in 1961, and finished his career with Philadelphia one year later, playing for a former Red Sox teammate, skipper Gene Mauch. In eleven seasons, he was a career .262 hitter with 66 homers and 421 RBIs in 1043 games. During his career with the Red Sox, White was one of the players featured in the

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

painting '' The Rookie''. He also opened a

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

alley, Sammy White's Brighton Bowl, a few miles from

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

, and became a professional bowler. After baseball, White moved to

Hanalei, Hawaii Hanalei is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was estimated at 299 as of 2019. ''Hanalei'' means " lei making" in Hawaiian. Alternatively, the name ''Hanalei'' also means "crescent bay" and may ...

, where he became a professional golfer for the Princeville organization. He died in Princeville, Hawaii, at the age of 64. ;Highlights *''All-Star'' (1953) *Became the only 20th-century player to score three runs in one inning (against the Detroit Tigers, on June 18, 1953, when the Red Sox scored a modern major league record 17 runs in one inning) *Caught

's no-hitter on July 14, 1956

References

External links

, o
Encyclopedia of MLB catchers
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Sammy 1927 births 1991 deaths American League All-Stars American men's basketball players Baseball players from Washington (state) Boston Red Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Braves players Oneonta Red Sox players People from Wenatchee, Washington Philadelphia Phillies players Roanoke Red Sox players Scranton Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players Washington Huskies baseball players Washington Huskies men's basketball players

References

Further reading

External links