SHARE VIA EMAIL. The pressure was growing on what was then known as "Organized Baseball" to desegregate, particularly because soldiers who had come back from putting their lives on the line for the country during World War II found a color bar still preventing them from playing professional baseball other than in the Negro leagues.11 Boston City Councilor Isadore Muchnick threatened to pull the special permit that the City of Boston accorded the Red Sox which enabled them to play baseball on one of the most lucrative days of the week Sundays. Phone: 602.496.1460 His play at the plate as well as his base stealing earned him Rookie of the Year in 1950 at the age of 32. In 1952 he slumped badly, hitting .232, and reportedly had vision trouble; rumors were also circulating that he was older than his listed age. 20 years longer than A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he played semipro ball in the St. Louis area after high school, and briefly appeared as a catcher for the Indianapolis ABCs in 1938. "When I played in the Negro Leagues, I enjoyed it. Failed to delete memorial. Sam Jethroe had been a pro ballplayer for nine seasons before getting a chance in the Majors. Arthur Daley of the New York Times noted the time Jethroe had scored from second standing up on an infield dribbler. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. JETHROE, SAM (20 January 1918-16 June 2001) was an outfielder with the Negro League CLEVELAND BUCKEYES and was considered a candidate to integrate Major League Baseball on several occasions. Blogs; Online will; Shop. Age: 83 one of the first black players in Major League Baseball history and the oldest player to ever win rookie of the year honors; nicknamed "The Jet" for his speed; debuted in 1950 with the Boston Braves, earning rookie honors at age 32 for batting .273 with 18 HRs, 58 RBI and 35 stolen bases; played with Boston through 1952 and two games with Pittsburgh in 1954; led the N.L . . This collection contains obituaries from newspapers published in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States, from the year 1822 onwards. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Jethroe spent a total of three years and seventeen days between the Braves and the Pirates, meaning that he fell just short of the requirement. Create an obituary. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. BIOGRAPHY Sam Jethroe is a well known Baseball. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Samuel Jethroe 1917 - 2001 1 Born January 23, 1917 Death June 16, 2001 Last Known Residence Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania 16502 Summary Samuel Jethroe of Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania was born on January 23, 1917, and died at age 84 years old on June 16, 2001. Player stats do not include the extensive amount of exhibitions and barnstorming games Negro League teams often played. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Pennsylvania, Erie County Obituaries. He was voted rookie of the year after hitting 18 home runs and leading the league in stolen bases. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seasons from 1942 to 1948, and helped the team to two pennants and the 1945 Negro World Series title. Sponsored. Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "The Jet" (January 20, 1918 - June 18, 2001), was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Sam Jethroe had 58 home runs over his career. He was named to the East-West All-Star team five times (1942, 194447), and ended his Cleveland career with a .296 average in 1948. List of first black Major League Baseball players, List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball, List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders, "International League Announces 2019 Hall of Fame Class", Negro League Baseball Players Association, National League season stolen base leaders, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Jethroe&oldid=1127428408, American expatriate baseball players in Cuba, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners, Sportspeople from East St. Louis, Illinois, Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, April 15,1954,for thePittsburgh Pirates, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 14 December 2022, at 17:15. Jethroe may have been a bit more candid shortly afterward with some of his Buckeyes teammates. Jethroe spent 1953 with the Triple-A Toledo Sox, hitting .307. In the 1990s his home burned, forcing him to sleep at his bar for a time. A photo of Samuel Jethroe on the Boston Braves team in the early 1950s. Although he lost the lawsuit Major League owners chose to give pensions to former Negro League players, including Jethroe, in 1997. Under the revised 1997 parameters Jethroe qualified for, and received, a pension.Jethroe died of a heart attack at an Erie hospital in 2001 and was buried in Erie Cemetery. Several people appear to have pitched in to help address the problem. "13 Sam Jethroe Samuel Jethroe Nickname: Jet Born: Jan. 20, 1918 in East St. Louis, Ill. Died: June 18, 2001 in Erie, Pa. Blogs; Online will; Shop. He batted .487 in 39 at bats in his first season in 1942, a year in which a car hit several Buckeyes players on September 7 while they were standing next to their disabled bus at a roadside outside Geneva, Ohio; catcher Buster Brown and pitcher Smoky Owens were killed. In 1950, when, as the outstanding first-year player in the American League, he was named rookie of the year, Jethroe was already 32, the age at which many players think about retiring. BY ANCESTRY.COM. Do you have a blog? ''I'm not the type of person to be bitter,'' Jethroe once said. insurance. After his career in the majors ended, Jethro settled in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a factory and played semi-pro baseball with the Pontiacs in the citys Glenwood League. [2] He died of a heart attack in 2001 in Erie. Linda Carol Jethroe 61, of Honolulu, HI, died in Honolulu, HI on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, he was an outfielder nicknamed "The Jet" in the Negro Leagues hitting .340 over seven seasons (1942-48) and helped his team the Cleveland Buckeyes win the 1945 Negro League World Series. Sam Jethroe, a star center fielder of the Negro leagues who was named rookie of the year while with the 1950 Boston Braves at age 32 and is the oldest player ever to receive the award, died last Saturday at a hospital in Erie, Pa. Known as The Jet, major leaguer Don Newcombe called Jethroe the quickest human being Ive ever seen.. Records typically include the name of the deceased, and the date the obituary was published.<br><br> . Sam Jethroe was past his prime in 1950. As a 20 year old, Sam Jethroe joined the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1942. 11201 Euclid Ave. Jethroe was courted by Mexican League head honcho Jorge Pasquel to play ball in the Mexican League, but declined. Sam Jethroe Position: Centerfielder Bats: Both Throws: Right 6-1 , 178lb (185cm, 80kg) Born: January 23, 1917 in Lowndes County, MS us Rookie of the Year 7x All-Star 1945 World Series 5 20 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Friends can be as close as family. The Red Sox had no intention of integrating their team, and Jethroe returned to the Buckeyes. 44106, 10900 Euclid Ave. The Red Sox did not sign any of the three players and it would be the last team in Major League Baseball to integrate, in 1959. A unique . Sam Jethroe, a star center fielder of the Negro leagues who was named rookie of the year while with the 1950 Boston Braves at age 32 and is the oldest player ever to receive the award, died. She was born in St. Louis, IL. when he died at the age of 84. Photos, memories, family stories & discoveries are unique to you, and only you can control. Jethroe received a physical deferment from military service in World War II. What is Samuel's ethnicity and where did his parents, grandparents & great-grandparents come from? Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Major League Baseball first instituted the pension plan in 1947, and required that players have four years of service time in the Majors to qualify. Indians owner ALVA BRADLEY scouted the trio during the East-West All Star Game that year and declined to sign any of them, based off of their poor performance during the game. Updated: September 23, 2019 Biography ID: 46487693 The Sox wanted to hold onto Sunday baseball and so agreed to hold a tryout for a select three Negro Leaguers brought to Boston by Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seasons from 1942 to 1948, and helped the team to two pennants and the 1945 Negro World Series title. , .avia-section.av-k6v62xgq-c0812a68936ee67ed4883eaa9d35be9b{ update=copyright.getFullYear(); Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. We will remember him forever. A switch-hitter, Jethroe had a career major league batting average of .261. But Jethroe remains the oldest rookie to ever win the award. The "international orange" color was chosen because it resisted rust and fading. Seventy years ago today, Cleveland Buckeye Sam Jethroe, Kansas City Monarch Jackie Robinson, and Philadelphia Star Marvin Williams walked into Fenway Park for a tryout with the Boston Red Sox. Unlike Rowberry, Moore pumped nearly $21 billion more into schools and universities. Jethroe returned to the Negro American League, which he led in batting and stolen bases, as his Cleveland Buckeyes won the league pennant and swept the powerful Homestead Grays in four games to win the 1945 Negro World Series. Sam Jethroe was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1950, playing for the Boston Braves, and the first African-American to play major-league baseball in Boston. "We were held back because of the color of our skin," said Newcombe.86 In 1943, he batted .291 while leading the league in both doubles (8) and triples (4). Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Help paint a picture of Samuel so that he is always remembered. Arguably, Jethroe and several former Negro Leaguers had been deprived of the opportunity to start sooner than they had. The cause was a heart attack, his family said. (Age 33-085d) With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seasons from 1942 to 1948, and helped the team to two pennants and the 1945 Negro World Series title. He had a brief tryout with the Indianapolis ABCs in 1938, but eventually was discovered by Cleveland Buckeyes owner Ernest Wright Jr. while playing for the semipro East St. Louis Colts. ''When he came to bat, the infield would have to come in a few steps or you'd never throw him out,'' remembered Buck O'Neil, who played against Jethroe while with the Negro leagues' Kansas City Monarchs. On April 18, 1950, he made his debut for the Boston Braves and at age 32, was the oldest player to win rookie of the year honors in 1950. Find out more. But he could do nothing to. We encourage you to research and . The Biography piece is collaborative, where we work together to present the facts. After his career ended, Jethroe settled in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he opened a bar and restaurant and played in the city's Glenwood League. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.) By Josh Jackson February 2, 2011 He was. Samuel Jethroe (1917-2001) was born in Columbus, Mississippi, and grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. This player does not have game logs available for some years. In addition, he was among the NL's top four batters in strikeouts each year. Sid Gordon paced Boston with 27 home runs, while Bob Elliott, Sam Jethroe and Earl Torgeson each walloped 20 or more, too. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Samuel The Jet Jethroe I found on Findagrave.com. Erie Cemetery, Erie, PA, High School: Lincoln HS (East St. Louis, IL), Debut: His home in Erie burned down in November 1994, forcing him to sleep for several months at the bar he ran in a rundown section of the city. Sam Jethroe, Baseball Player born. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.