James Harold Babcock, who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, died on
February 26, 2010 in of Apex, NC.

http://tinyurl.com/ykplcl9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=babcoc001jam

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Owen Derrell Skousen, who played in the Boston Red Sox organization, died on
February 26, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yadwgc9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=skouse001owe

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Larry Joe Good, who played in the Chicago Cubs organization, died on February
28, 2010 in David City, NE.

http://tinyurl.com/yaefmfg

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=good--001lar

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

I noticed that Larry Good's manager with the 1952 Janesville Cubs was
Harry Bright.  Bright was the manager for the entire season, but was only
22 years old.  Bright would not be a major leaguer until 1958.  How common
is it to have such an inexperienced, young manager?  Is there a reason for
it?

Steve Boren


On Wed, March 3, 2010 9:50 am, morrisjvm wrote:
> Larry Joe Good, who played in the Chicago Cubs organization, died on
> February 28, 2010 in David City, NE.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/yaefmfg
>
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=good--001lar
>
> Jack Morris
> East Coventry, PA
>
>
>
>

Robert Marshall "Rusty" Shelton Jr., who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates
organization, died on March 1, 2010 in Hurt, VA.

http://tinyurl.com/y9qu5ou

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=shelto003rob

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Joseph L. "Joe" Riolo, who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, died on
March 3, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/ye35ch9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=riolo-001jos

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Richard Elias Libby, who pitched for nine seasons in three different
organizations, died on March 1, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yc56bz8

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=libby-001ric

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

USC's First Home Run King Dies

Accidental Fall Claims Two-time
All-American Hank Small

FROM:  Go Gamecocks.com ~
By Neil White and Ron Morris

http://snurl.com/un6ms

The Babe Ruth of South Carolina baseball
died Wednesday in Atlanta.

Hank Small, whose 48 career home runs
from 1972-75 stood as the USC record for
more than three decades, was 56. David Small
said his brother fell Tuesday night while
moving into his new home in Griffin, Ga.

Hank Small lost his balance on the steps in front
of the house, fell backward and struck the back
of his head on the pavement, according to his
brother. He lost consciousness and never
regained it due to massive trauma, David said.

Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday
at Second Ponce de Leon Church in downtown
Atlanta. Family will receive friends one hour
before the service.

"He was the home run king," said Jeff Grantz,
a pitcher and teammate of Small's, who lives in
Columbia.

"It's a sad, sad situation," said Earl Bass, another
pitcher and teammate of Small's, who sobbed
as he talked by telephone from his home in
Boynton Beach, Fla.

Small was the first true home run hitter at USC.
In the nine-year period leading to Small's first
season, USC hit 42 home runs. Small hit six
more than that the next four years himself.

Teammates called Small "Hams," which was
short for "Hammer," because the 6-foot-3,
205-pound first baseman/outfielder was every
bit the power hitter that Hank "The Hammer"
Aaron was for the Atlanta Braves at the time.

"It was just an amazing feeling when you could
look around the infield and you've got Hams
at first," Bass said. "We just knew nobody could
ever beat us."

Although Small was known for his prodigious
home runs, he was the consummate hitter,
possessing the ability to drive the ball to the
opposite field.

"He attacked everybody. He was such
an intimidating force at the plate," Bass said.
"He had such an aggressive style of hitting.
You may get him on one pitch, but the next
one he would hit the ball so hard."

Small batted .379 as a freshman in 1972 with four
home runs, then slumped to .282 as a sophomore
with eight homers. Aluminum bats were used for
the first time in 1974, Small's junior season.

"People were scared of him," Bass said. "He was
strong. He was big. With aluminum bats, he didn't
have to pull everything. He could drive the ball
anywhere."

Small batted .360 his junior year with
a school-record 17 home runs and was
a second-team All-American. Then, as a senior,
he batted .390 and broke his record with 19 home
runs and earned first-team All-America honors.

His home run total as a senior stood as the USC
single-season record until Joe Datin hit 23
in 1985. His 48 career home runs stood as the
school record until Justin Smoak hit 62 from
2006-08.

"I don't want to take anything away from what
(Smoak's) done," Small said two years ago
as Smoak approached his career record. "I just
think college baseball is so much more hitting than
it is pitching today. College now is a hitting
game."

Small's career coincided with the rise to big-time
baseball for USC under coach Bobby
Richardson [1], who arrived for the 1970 season.

"Not only was he a tremendous ball player, but
he was a tremendous individual as well,"
Richardson said. "I just thought the world of him,
and I'm saddened and shocked to hear not that
he's no longer with us."

The '74 club made USC's first appearance
in the NCAA tournament, and the following year
USC advanced to the College World Series.
USC lost the championship game to Texas, 5-1,
with Small's homer accounting for USC's run.

"I feel like that team I was lucky enough to be
on was, in my mind, probably the greatest team
I ever saw in college," said David Small, who
was a teammate of his brother's on the '75 team
and now works in building supply sales in the
Atlanta area.

George Henry Small was born in Atlanta
on July 31, 1953. June Raines recruited Small
out of Atlanta to play for Richardson. Raines,
who left for professional baseball, returned after
Small had finished his USC career.

"They made Carolina baseball," Raines said
of Small and Bass. "They sure did put the
program on the map."

Small was selected in the fourth round of the
Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves.
He advanced quickly through the minor-league
system and batted .289 with 25 home runs and
101 RBIs for Richmond of the Class AAA
International League in 1978.

He earned a late-season call-up to the major
leagues and played in one game for Atlanta
on Sept. 27. Small went hitless in four at-bats
in his only big-league game.

Small spent many years after his professional
baseball career working in the insurance business
in the Charleston area before moving to Atlanta
approximately five years ago. He had most
recently been working for a groundskeeping
company maintaining baseball fields.

Small is survived by his mother, three brothers
and two grown daughters.
---
MLB stats:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smallha01.shtml

Scott Edmund Taylor, who played in the Atlanta Braves organization, died on
March 1, 2010 in Bradenton, FL.

http://tinyurl.com/yz7x6k9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=taylor003sco

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Samuel Drake,75; Part of First Black Sibling
Major Leaguers, Dies

FROM:  The Los Angeles Times ~
By Keith Thursby

LOS ANGELES

When Samuel Drake played minor league
baseball in Macon, Ga., in 1955, he was called
unspeakable, unprintable things simply because
of the color of his skin.

"And these are my home fans," he once said.
"I'm not talking about when I would be traveling
to Savannah and all these other Southern cities."

Drake persevered, reached the major leagues
in 1960 and became part of baseball history with
his brother, Solomon Drake, as the first black
siblings to play in the majors. Solomon said of the
pressures playing in the South: "We never let it
interfere with our game plan," which was to reach
the big leagues.

Samuel Drake died Jan. 27 at Kaiser Permanente
West Los Angeles Medical Center from cancer,
said his wife, Glenda. He was 75.

Known during his playing career as Sammy Drake,
he spent parts of 1960 and '61 with the Chicago
Cubs and 1962 with the New York Mets during
the team's first season. He then returned to the
minors because of knee problems.

During the 1955 season in Macon, Ga., Sammy
Drake and a teammate, Ernest Johnson, broke the
color barrier there.

Solomon Drake, now pastor of Greater Ebenezer
Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, said he
and his brother sometimes talked about
"the foolishness of the signs - blacks only, whites
only; the black water fountains and the white water
fountains."

Samuel Drake told The Macon Telegraph about
playing for the Macon Peaches, then
a Class-A minor league team affiliated with the
Chicago Cubs: "There was a little hole-in-the-wall
restaurant there they had for us. . . . I didn't have
any choice. That was it. And when we traveled,
I had to stay on the bus while they would go and
bring my food to me. That was very degrading.
It hurt, man. It really did."

Samuel Harrison Drake was born Oct. 7, 1934,
in Little Rock, Ark. He was attending Philander
Smith College in Arkansas when he signed to play
baseball with a team in Winnipeg, Canada.
He eventually received a bachelor's degree from
Philander Smith.

"I recommended (Winnipeg) to him," said Solomon,
who had played there. "It was a night-and-day
experience compared to some of the things we went
through playing in the South."

Samuel Drake expected to sign with the Kansas City
Monarchs of the Negro League after playing for them
on a tryout, he told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
in 2005. "They told me I'd hear from them in
a month or so. They called and sent me a contract
offering me $400 a month," he said. But he had
already signed with Winnipeg.

Drake played in 28 games as an infielder for the
Cubs, then joined the expansion Mets before the
1962 season. He played only 25 games for New
York before heading back to the minors. A researcher
at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
confirmed that the Drakes were the first black
siblings to reach the majors. Solomon, known then
as Solly, played for the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers
and Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1959.

"We could both run, we could smoke it," Solomon
Drake said with a laugh.

Samuel Drake, who lived in Los Angeles, was
a retired investigator with the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. He also taught
Sunday school at his brother's church.

Along with his brother, Drake is survived by his wife,
Glenda; sons from his first marriage, Samuel Jr.,
Venson and Gerald; stepchildren Kimberly, JaNae
and Jonte; nine grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.

Leon Trabert Addy, who played part of one season in the 1938 Florida State
League, died on March 4, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/ydnnsml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=addy--001leo

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Joseph H. Brandel, who pitched in the Western Carolina League in 1962,  died on
March 7, 2010 in Dubuque, IA.

http://www.thonline.com/obits/obituary.cfm?id=275612

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=brande001jos

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Robert H. Ludwick Sr., who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, died on
March 4, 2010 in West Chester, PA.

http://tinyurl.com/ygbowon

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=ludwic001rob

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

William J. "Bill" Lawrence, who played one season in the Georgia-Florida League
in 1958, died on March 2, 2010 in Ketchum, ID.

http://tinyurl.com/y9qqtv9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=lawren003wil

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

James Ivan "Jim" Roland Jr., who pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Oakland A's,
New York Yankees and Texas Rangers in 10 major league seasons, died on March 6,
2010, in Shelby, NC.

http://tinyurl.com/ykcncvx

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rolanji01.shtml?redir

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

There are reports that Frank Bertaina, pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles,
Washington Senators and St. Louis Cardinals, has died on March 3, 2010.

http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2010/03/frank-bertaina-dies.html

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bertafr01.shtml

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Former Dodger Willie Davis was found dead this morning in Burbank, CA. He was 69
years old:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/03/former-dodger-ce\
nter-fielder-willie-davis-found-dead-/1

Mary E. "Liz" Rapp, who played in 1944 for the Rockford Peaches and Minneapolis
Millerettes of the AAGPBL, died on March 9, 2010 in Metamora, IL.

http://tinyurl.com/yzbcesf

http://www.aagpbl.org/players/index.cfm?do=player.details&playerid=422

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Roy "Cap" Lloyd Peden, who pitched in the Arizona-Texas League in 1941, died on
March 8, 2010 in Odessa, Texas.

http://tinyurl.com/yz7jkbn

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=peden-001roy

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Charles E. "Charlie" Ruddock, who played in the Philadelphia Phillies
organization, died on March 10, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yl7rqdk

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=ruddoc001cha

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Robert Keith "Red" Bates Sr., who played in the New York Yankees organization,
died on March 9, 2010 in Ottumwa, IA.

http://tinyurl.com/yhl6csu

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bates-001rob

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Thomas Robert L. "Tom" Keating, who played in the St. Louis Cardinals
organization, died on March 10, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/ybqebqq

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=keatin002tho

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Louis Monroe Graham, who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, died on
March 10, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yzjzhrf

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=graham001lou

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Zigmond P. Emery, who played for eight seasons in the minors sandwiched around
service in World War II, died on March 12, 2010 in Levittown, PA.

http://tinyurl.com/yknml9j

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=emery-001zig

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Ronald J. "Ron" Shirley, who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, died
on March 10, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yk2b7zo

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=shirle001ron

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Mark Stanley Austry, who played for the Fort Worth Cats in the independent
league All-American Association in 2001, died on March 14, 2010 in Dallas.

http://tinyurl.com/ydbmy3x

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=austry001mar

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

George A. Bucci, who played two seasons in the Florida International League,
died March 15, 2010 in Largo, FL.

http://tinyurl.com/y89kzc7

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bucci-001geo

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA