Dave Pope
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David Pope (June 17, 1921 – August 28, 1999) was an American
Early life
Pope, the son of Jackson and Mary Pope, was one of eleven siblings.
Baseball career
Pope joined the
Although his major league career spanned roughly four years, Pope has a place in the photo and film archive for Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, as part of a play which contrasted with Willie Mays's famous catch. In the top of the 8th inning, Vic Wertz of Cleveland had hit a deep fly ball (400 or more feet) to center field which had been pulled down by Mays for a very long out. In the last of the 10th inning, Giants' pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes hit a shallow fly ball, well under 300 feet, toward the cozy right field area of the Polo Grounds. Pope, who had been brought into the game in the late innings, ran over and leaped as high as he could but was a couple of feet short of being able to catch Rhodes' fly ball, which landed in the first row of seats for the game-winning home run.[1]
Pope was acquired along with Wally Westlake and cash by the Baltimore Orioles from the Indians for Gene Woodling and Billy Cox before the trade deadline on June 15, 1955.[6] His 1956 Topps baseball card for the Orioles gave him some vicarious redemption for that failed leap in 1954: It included a colorized drawing based on the black-and-white picture, but with the ball in his glove.[2]
In 1141.2 innings playing at all three outfield positions, Pope recorded a .990 fielding percentage, committing only 3 errors in 315 total chances.
Family and death
Pope died in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999 and was buried at Lake View Cemetery in the same city.[7]
Pope's daughter, Linda is an ophthalmologist in Houston, Texas and her son, Pope's grandson, David Pegram, performed in the 2011
See also
References
- ^ "Baseball Reference". Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ a b Smith, Malik. "Obituary: William "Willie" Pope / Negro Leagues pitcher for the Grays, Crawfords", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 16, 2010.
- ^ "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Dave Pope". Seamhead.com. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "O-Q 2018-04" (PDF). cnlbr.org. Center for Negro League Baseball Research. p. 309. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Cleveland Swaps Westlake, Pope for Woodling and Billy Cox," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, June 16, 1955. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Bona, Marc (April 25, 2018). "9 Famous Baseball Graves in Lake View Cemetery". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Retrosheet
- Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
- Dave Pope at Find a Grave