Sammy Drake
| Sammy Drake | ||
|---|---|---|
Runs batted in | 7 | |
| Teams | ||
Samuel Harrison Drake (October 7, 1934 – January 27, 2010) was a
Early life
Samuel was born in
Minor League career
He was signed by the Cubs organization prior to the 1955 season, after impressing manager Pepper Martin in spring training.[3] Samuel played with the Macon Peaches in the South Atlantic League in 1955, batting .251 in 105 games, while leading the league in stolen bases.[3] He and teammate Ernest Johnson were the first African-Americans to play for Macon, where Drake experienced the racism and Jim Crow laws first hand from the local hometown fans, something he later claimed as a motivation for a further career in Major Leagues.[1][3] The town African-American population was supportive of the duo, but otherwise Drake nor Johnson were able to stay in the same establishments as their white teammates.[3]
Major League Baseball
Samuel moved up to the
In 53 career games, Drake batted .153 with seven runs batted in and eight runs scored.[4]
Later life
When his playing career ended, Samuel became a government employee with the
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Thursby, Keith (March 7, 2010). "Samuel Drake dies at 75; infielder for the Cubs, Mets". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- ^ "Sammy Drake Player Card - the Baseball Cube".
- ^ a b c d Harvey, Coley (May 10, 2009). "Macon's Jackies: The forgotten story of Samuel Drake and Ernest Johnson". The Mason Telegraph. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Sammy Drake Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Sammy Drake at Ultimate Mets Database