Clyde Leroy Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 – September 3, 2000), nicknamed "Sukey", 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 professiona ...

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 catcher ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and

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 ...

. He was best known for signing the first black player in the modern era of

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),

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

, after Robinson was scouted by Tom Greenwade in the Negro leagues.

Eye injury impaired playing career

Sukeforth was born in Washington, Maine. After two years at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, followed by a year in the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League ...

with the Nashua Millionaires and the Manchester Blue Sox, he was acquired by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in . Sukeforth batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and during his active career. He appeared in 486 games over all or parts of ten big-league seasons (1926–34 and 1945), compiling a

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 i ...

of .264 with 326

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

, two

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 is ...

s and 96

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 ...

. His best year in the Major Leagues was , when he batted .354 for the Reds with 84

in 84

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

. Two years later he lost partial sight of his right eye from being hit by a shotgun pellet while bird hunting on November 16. He was able to continue his playing career, but his batting suffered, and in Sukeforth was traded to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

. In mid-1934, the Dodgers sent Sukeforth to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

, where he became a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

in 1936.

Witnessed Robinson's historic signing

Sukeforth managed in the Brooklyn farm system from 1937–42 with the Clinton Owls of the Class B Three-I League, the

Elmira Pioneers The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Base ...

of the Class A Eastern League and the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball, 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 system, farm club (Triple-A (base ...

of the top-level

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

before his promotion to the Dodger coaching staff in . He also was activated by Brooklyn at age 43 for 18 games during the first three months of the season, the last year of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

manpower shortage, despite not having played competitively since 1939, when he was a player-manager at Elmira. Sukeforth started 13 games as Brooklyn's catcher, and collected 15

, although only one was for extra bases, a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

struck against

Jim Tobin James Anthony Tobin (December 27, 1912 – May 19, 1969), known as "Abba Dabba", was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bees/ Braves and Detroit Tigers from 1937 to 1945. With the Boston B ...

of the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

on April 24. He batted .288 in 55 at-bats. Sukeforth soon retired permanently from the playing ranks and resumed his former job as a Brooklyn coach and occasional special-assignment scout. In that capacity, later that season, he would make history. Dodger president

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

was making secret plans to break organized baseball's six-decades-long "gentleman's agreement" that enforced racial segregation. In August, Rickey sent Sukeforth to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where Robinson's team, the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1 ...

of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

, was slated to play 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 ...

. Rickey told Sukeforth to urge Robinson to come back with him to Brooklyn for a meeting with Rickey and the Dodgers. Sukeforth met Robinson again in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, and the two men traveled by railway to Brooklyn for the historic meeting at the Dodgers' Montague Street offices on August 28. He was the only other person in the room when Rickey told Robinson of his plans to offer him a contract to play in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in . Then, in , Sukeforth—functioning in the unwanted role of interim manager of the Dodgers after the suspension of

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infie ...

—wrote Robinson's name into the Dodger lineup on Opening Day on April 15 against the Braves at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...

. In addition to serving on Durocher's coaching staff and his scouting assignments for Dodgers president Rickey, he worked behind the scenes in 1946 to help create the new Nashua Dodgers of the Class B

. Sukeforth helped the Nashua team forge ties with the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

community, easing the racial integration of the league when Roy Campanella and

Don Newcombe Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball who played for the Newark Eagles (1944–45), Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949– ...

were assigned to that club.

Turned down two managerial opportunities

Sukeforth won his only two games as the Dodgers' manager in 1947, 5–3 and 12–6, both against Boston. Durocher had been suspended for the entire 1947 season by

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

Happy Chandler Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also s ...

because of "conduct detrimental to baseball." But Sukeforth and a fellow coach,

Ray Blades Francis Raymond Blades (August 6, 1896 – May 18, 1979) was an American left fielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Scouted on the sandlots by Rickey A native of McLeansboro, Illinois, Blades was first scouted as a bas ...

, both turned down the opportunity to serve as acting manager for the rest of the season; ultimately, Brooklyn scout and longtime Rickey associate

Burt Shotton Burton Edwin Shotton (October 18, 1884 – July 29, 1962) was an American player, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. As manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947; 1948–50), he won two National League pennants and served as Jackie Rob ...

assumed that role, and Shotton led the Dodgers to the 1947 National League pennant. In , when Dodger manager

Chuck Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in '' The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Re ...

needed a reliever to face the

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 divisio ...

Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants (1946–53, 1957), M ...

in the ninth inning of the decisive third game of the National League pennant playoff, Sukeforth, coaching in the Dodger

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

, passed over Carl Erskine and sent in

Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph "Hawk" Branca (January 6, 1926 – November 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944� ...

, who gave up Thomson's "

shot heard 'round the world "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America. It was an ...

". On January 9, 1952, Sukeforth resigned as a Dodgers coach, then a few weeks later signed to be a coach with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

, where Rickey was executive vice president and

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 ...

. There, as a coach and occasional scout, he played a pivotal role in the drafting of

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early dea ...

from the Brooklyn organization in the Rule 5 draft. Rickey initially sent Sukeforth to scout former major league pitcher Joe Black, who was toiling for Brooklyn's

Triple-A affiliate. Instead, Sukeforth became interested in a 20-year-old Dodger prospect: Clemente. Sukeforth told Pirates' beat writer Les Biederman, "I knew then he'd be our first draft choice." Before leaving, he recalled, "I told Montreal manager

Max Macon Max Cullen Macon (October 14, 1915 – August 5, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball player, a minor league player-manager and pitching coach, and a professional baseball scout. Born in Pensacola, Florida, he threw and batted left-ha ...

to take good care of 'our boy' and see that he didn't get hurt." Good to his word, the Pirates drafted Clemente on November 22, 1954.Thornley, Stew
"Appendix: Statistical Summary of Roberto Clemente's 1954 Season With the Montreal Royals"
''The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History''. Volume 26; 2006. pp. 68–69. Retrieved January 14, 2016. Clemente forged an 18-year Hall of Fame career with the Pirates, leading them to the

1960 It is also known as the " Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * J ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

world championships, compiling an even 3,000

, and earning an immediate elevation to Cooperstown after his untimely death in a plane crash while on a humanitarian mission to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua on December 31, 1972. Once again passing up a Major League managing assignment after turning down the chance to succeed Pirate skipper

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, from hi ...

on August 3, , Sukeforth retired as a coach at the end of the 1957 season.

Late career

Sukeforth remained in the Pirates organization as a scout and occasional

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

manager through . Later, he worked as a scout for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

. Sukeforth died at the age of ninety-eight at his home in

Waldoboro, Maine Waldoboro is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak R ...

In popular culture

Sukeforth appears 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 '' Bottom of the Sixth''. He was interviewed in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

's 1994 documentary ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

''. In '' 42'', the 2013 theatrical

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the sp ...

about Robinson's breaking of the

baseball color line The color line, also known as the color barrier, in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 19th century before the l ...

, Sukeforth — played by actor

Toby Huss Tobias Huss (born December 9, 1966) is an American actor, known for portraying Artie in the Nickelodeon series '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' (1993–1996). He is also known for his voice-over work on the long-running animated series ''King of ...

— is portrayed as meeting Robinson at a rural

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasol ...

where the Monarchs' team bus had stopped (rather than the actual locale,

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 Chicago White Sox s ...

in Chicago), and urging Robinson to travel with him to Brooklyn for his meeting with Rickey. Another scene has Huss hitting fungos right-handed (although Sukeforth was a left-handed hitter) as he teaches Robinson how to play first base. This was an unfamiliar defensive position for the

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 ...

and second baseman, but the one Robinson played as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in . In addition, the on-screen Sukeforth, wearing uniform #40, is shown in one of the film's last scenes as the Dodgers'

third base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decis ...

who congratulates Robinson on hitting a dramatic home run.

References

External links

Clyde Sukeforth
at The Deadball Era * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sukeforth, Clyde 1901 births 2000 deaths Albany Senators players Atlanta Braves scouts Baseball players from Maine Brooklyn Dodgers coaches Brooklyn Dodgers managers Brooklyn Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Clinton Owls players Elmira Pioneers players Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball scouts Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Montreal Royals managers Nashua Millionaires players People from Knox County, Maine People from Waldoboro, Maine Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates scouts