Joe Christopher
From BR Bullpen
Joseph O'Neal Christopher
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 176 lb.
- Debut May 26, 1959
- Final Game May 27, 1966
- Born December 13, 1935 in Frederiksted, V.I.
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[edit] Biographical Information
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Joe Christopher as an amateur free agent before the 1955 season. The speedy outfielder would play with three different teams in that first season, appearing in a total of 140 games and hitting for a combined .301 average for the Phoenix Stars, Williamsport Grays and the Lincoln Chiefs.
Christopher would make his big league debut for Pittsburgh on May 26, 1959 in the now famous Harvey Haddix pitching masterpiece. Joe would play a backup role in the outfield for the Pirates for three years, getting into three games and scoring two runs in the Pirates victory over the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series before going to the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft.
An original Met, he was the team's first player to hit .300 in a season with over 500 at-bats when he hit an even .300 in 1964. Joe closed out his eight year major league run in a dozen games for the Boston Red Sox in 1966 with a .260 career average.
Joe has the distinction of appearing in two perfect games in the majors, as five years after the Harvey Haddix 12 inning game he was playing for the Mets when Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies hurled his perfect game in 1964.
Christopher finished out his 14 year pro baseball career that began in 1955 and ended in 1968 in the AAA and AA high minors, retiring in 1968 after hitting .258 in 102 games for the Reading Phillies.
He operated a baseball school back in the Virgin Islands before returning to the United States, to Baltimore, MD, where he was a freelance artist and painter.
Technically, Joe Christopher was the first native-born MLB player from the United States Virgin Islands. However, Valmy Thomas really merits the honor. Valmy was born in Puerto Rico because his mother sought better medical attention, but mother and newborn immediately returned home to St. Croix, where Valmy grew up and still resides today.
[edit] Notable Achievement
- Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960
[edit] Sources
Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page
