Sam Khalifa (born December 5, 1963) is an American former

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 ...

player. An infielder, Khalifa 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) for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985 through 1987. He retired from baseball when his father,

Rashad Khalifa Rashad Khalifa ( ar, رشاد خليفة; November 19, 1935 – January 31, 1990) was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International (USI), an organization which promotes the practice and study of Q ...

, was murdered in 1990.

Early life

Khalifa was born in Fontana, California, while his father,

, obtained a PH.D in Biochemistry at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

. As a child, he relocated to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

on two occasions. When he was a few months old, his family moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, where his father worked for the Egyptian government. After three years in Egypt, the Khalifas moved to St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, where they lived for seven years. They then moved to Tripoli,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, as his father consulted for the Libyan government for a year.Brownfield, Paul. "Briefly a Rising Star, Forever a Mourning Son," ''The New York Times'', January 2, 2013.
/ref> Then, his family moved to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Career

Khalifa attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson. For the school's football team he played quarterback and was named All-City by the Arizona Daily Star. He received several Division I football scholarship offers to play quarterback. He also played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

on the school's baseball team, which won the Class 5A state championship, defeating Phoenix Brophy High School. He was named the Arizona High school Player of the Year in 1982 and also selected to the 1982 All American Baseball Team. Khalifa was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the seventh overall selection in the

1982 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

. Though he signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

to attend Arizona State University, Khalifa signed with the Pirates, receiving a $100,000 signing bonus. In 1982, he played for the Gulf Coast Pirates of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

(GCL) and the Greenwood Pirates of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. In 48 games played for Greenwood, Khalifa had a .305

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He played six games for the GCL Pirates. In 1983, he played for the

Alexandria Dukes The Alexandria Dukes were a Minor League Baseball team of the Class A Carolina League from 1978 to 1983. Alexandria was unable to secure a Major League Baseball affiliate for their inaugural season, and again in 1980, forcing the team to operate ...

of the Class A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

and made the All Star team, batting .270 in 103 games, and received five games of playing time for the

Lynn Sailors The Lynn Sailors were a Minor League Baseball franchise that originated in 1980 in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Sailors were affiliated with the Seattle Mariners from 1980 to 1982 and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, when they were known as the L ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League. Khalifa spent the 1984 season with the Nashua Pirates of the Eastern League in 1984. He batted .238 in Nashua in 91 games, as he missed playing time when he fractured his wrist on two occasions. Pirates'

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 ...

Chuck Tanner Charles William Tanner (July 4, 1928February 11, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A left fielder and pinch hitter who appeared in 396 games in Major League Baseball between 1955 and 1962, he was known for his unwav ...

wanted Khalifa to begin the 1985 season as a member of the Pirates' major league roster, but

Pete Peterson Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane w ...

, the Pirates'

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, decided that Khalifa needed to spend time in

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

before he would be ready for the major leagues. Khalifa started the 1985 season with the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, and after batting .282 for the Islanders, he made his MLB debut on June 25, 1985, replacing the injured

Johnnie LeMaster Johnnie Lee LeMaster (born June 19, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played for four teams over a 12 year (– and ) MLB career, including 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right-handed. Career On ...

, becoming the sixth player to start for the Pirates at shortstop during the 1985 season. The Pirates began the season with

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Pi ...

and

Rafael Belliard Rafael Leonidas Belliard Matias (born October 24, 1961) is a retired professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 to 1998 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. He was a member of Atlanta's 1995 W ...

. Foli received his release, while Belliard had been demoted to Hawaii. Jerry Dybzinski received one game at shortstop for the Pirates, who was followed by

Bill Almon William Francis Almon (born November 21, 1952) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburg ...

, and the trade acquisition of LeMaster from 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 ...

. Khalifa recorded six hits in his first eleven at-bats. In his rookie season, he had a .238 batting average across 95 games played. In 1986, Khalifa platooned at shortstop with

, as Khalifa struggled, batting .185. He was sent down to the minor leagues, and

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

solidified himself as the Pirates' starting shortstop. Khalifa played for the Vancouver Canadiens of the Pacific Coast League in 1987. He split the 1988 season with the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

of the Eastern League and the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

of the Class AAA International League. He again played for Buffalo in 1989. One day, he was five minutes late for the team bus, it left without him, and he returned home to Tucson. Joe L. Brown, the former general manager of the Pirates, arranged a tryout for Khalifa with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in 1990. Khalifa quit baseball without attending the tryout following the murder of his father. He played 164 games across three seasons in the majors, most as a

. His primary historical importance arises from his status as the first man of

ian descent to play major league baseball. He ended his career with a .219 batting average, a .294 on-base percentage, and a .285 slugging percentage.

Personal life

Khalifa's father,

, was murdered on January 31, 1990. Islamic extremists opposed to his teachings were connected to it.

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

national Glen Cusford Francis was arrested in Calgary on April 28, 2009, in connection with the elder Khalifa's murder. Francis was convicted of Khalifa's murder. Khalifa is no longer involved with professional baseball. He currently resides in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, where he purchased his parents' house. He coaches both baseball and football at Sahuaro High School.

References

External links

Sammy Khalifa
Fan site {{DEFAULTSORT:Khalifa, Sam 1963 births Living people Alexandria Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Egyptian descent American Quranist Muslims Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Greenwood Pirates players Gulf Coast Pirates players Harrisburg Senators players Hawaii Islanders players Pittsburgh Pirates players Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball shortstops Nashua Pirates players People from Fontana, California Vancouver Canadians players Sahuaro High School alumni