Sam Jethroe

From BR Bullpen

Samuel Jethroe (Jet, Sambo)

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 178 lb.

High School Lincoln High School
Debut April 18, 1950
Final Game April 15, 1954
Born January 20, 1918 in East St. Louis, IL USA
Died June 18, 2001 in Erie, PA USA

Sam Jethroe was a speedy Negro League player who eventually played three years in the major leagues, starting in 1950 at the age of 32. He was Rookie of the Year in 1950 with the Boston Braves.

1 Negro League Career
2 With The Montreal Royals
3 In Boston
4 Minor league stardom once more
5 Post-baseball life
6 Sources
7 Notable Achievements
8 Related Sites

[edit] Negro League Career

Jethroe played semi-pro ball for the East St. Louis Colts and St. Louis Giants and briefly for the '38 Indianapolis ABCs, and then played from 1942-48 with the Cincinnati Buckeyes and Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League. He hit .487 his first year, but did not play enough to qualify for the league lead in average.He did appear in both editions of the East-West Game that year, retired as a pinch-hitter in the first and going 1 for 5 with a run as the leadoff hitter and center fielder for the west in game two. In '43, when the club moved to Cleveland, he hit .291 but led the NAL in doubles (8) and triples (4). In '44, the 26-year-old flyhawk hit .353 to lead the league; he also stole the most bases in the loop (18) and doubles (14). He was 0 for 3 in the 1944 East-West Game, but threw out Josh Gibson at the plate later.

Jethroe had had a tryout with the Boston Red Sox as a result of political pressure in Boston in 1945. The tryout was for him, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams, and the tryout was in front of 78-year-old Hugh Duffy (who said "they looked good to me"), Joe Cronin, and Tom Yawkey. It was too soon, however, for a major league team to hire a black player, so nobody was taken by the Red Sox at that point.

Sam continued to shine in Cleveland, hitting .393 to lead the NAL for the second straight season, led in triples for the second time (10) and led in steals (21) for the second time as probably the league's brighest star, outshining the likes of Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige. He hit .333 to lead Cleveland past the Homestead Grays in the Negro World Series.

In '46, The Jet hit .310 (5th in the league), homered six times (second to Willard Brown) and led in steals once more with 20. No data is available for doubles and triples; he presumably remained among the leaders there. In the '46-'47 Cuban Winter League, he led with 22 steals and batted .300, 4th-best. In the first East-West Game of '46, he hit third for the West and was 0 for 4 with a run. In game two, he again hit third and was 0 for 3 with a run (and a steal this time).

He hit .340 in 1947 but other statistical data is much more limited as papers followed the integration of major league baseball instead of the traditional venues for black stars. In the Negro World Series, he was 6 for 19 and was stranded on third in a tied game one when the rain came down. For the first time, Sam put up a fine show in the East-West contests. In game one, he was 1 for 3 with a triple, RBI, run, steal and hit by pitch in the West's 5-2 run, again hitting third. In game two, he was 3 for 5 with a triple, run, 4 RBI and steal in the West's 8-2 victory. Overall, he hit just .208/~.269/.375 in his 24 AB in East-West contests, in a small sample size against tough competition.

He hit .296 for Cleveland in 1948, ending his Negro League career at age 30 and jumping to the now-integrated Organized Baseball past his prime. He hit .330 in his Negro League career.

[edit] With The Montreal Royals

Jethroe took a pay cut from $700 a month to $400 in joining the Montreal Royals. He batted .322/~.379/.473 and led the International League with 18 steals despite joining the team close to the midway point of the year. He legged out 11 triples, tied for fourth despite his limited time. For Montreal in '49, Sam dazzled the IL. The 32-year-old hit .326/~.401/.520 and led the league in runs (154 in 153 games), hits (207), triples (19) and steals (89). He also hit 17 homers and drew 79 walks. The run, triple and steal totals are phenomenally high for the era, though all were at least 10 shy of records set at prior times more conducive to those stats. His time in the sprints that year was timed close to a world record despite his age.

[edit] In Boston

The Brooklyn Dodgers were concerned that they had too many black players to suit all of their fans, so they traded Jethroe with Bob Addis to the Boston Braves for Don Thompson, Damon Phillips, and Al Epperly. In Boston, although Jethroe was Rookie of the Year, he was the subject of much criticism and racism. He roomed with basketball star Chuck Cooper.

Both Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain won 20 games for the Braves in 1950, the year that Jethroe was a rookie with the Braves. He hit .273/.338/.442, led the 1950 NL with 35 steals and scored 100 runs. Jethroe became the oldest player ever to win Rookie of the Year honors (through 2006). With the 1951 Braves, The Jet hit .280/.356/.460, stole 35 in 40 tries, was 4th in the league with 10 triples, led in steals, was sixth with 101 runs and homered 18 times for the second straight season. Jethroe, at age 34, slipped to .232/.318/.357 in 1952 but was still second in the 1952 NL with 28 steals. After he slipped in batting average in 1952, and partly as a result of a fight with manager Charlie Grimm, he went to the minors, returning only for one at-bat with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954.

[edit] Minor league stardom once more

Sam put on a show in the '53 American Association for the Toledo Mud Hens, hitting .309/~.423/.560 and leading the AA in walks (109), OBP and runs (137) while going deep 28 times, stealing 27 bases and tying for the lead in times hit by pitch (11). He tied for fourth in steals, was third in total bases (304) and tied for third in homers. His 408 putouts were the most by an outfielder in the AA that year and he had 16 outfield assists. In '54, he moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs and put up a .305/~.385/.499 line with 23 steals (4th in the IL), 113 runs (leading the league), 36 doubles (tied for second), 8 triples and 21 homers. It was the third time in three full AAA seasons that he had topped the circuit in runs scored. He led IL outfielders in putouts (415).

In 1955, he slipped to a .262 average and .410 slugging with Toronto at age 37. He scored 105 runs for the '56 Maple Leafs (leading his league once more), missed the 20-20 mark by one homer and batted .287/~.399/.446. He was third in the league with 103 walks (trailing Cal Abrams and fellow ex-Negro League star Luke Easter). He led IL outfielders in putouts (351). In 1957, the old-timer batted .277/~.363/.439 and stole 24 bases, scoring 83 times. He was only two steals behind league leader Len Johnston. He finished his career for Toronto in 1958 by hitting .234 and slugging .326.

[edit] Post-baseball life

He ran Jethroe's Bar and Restaurant in Erie, PA, for 30 years. When things got tough, he sold his Rookie of the Year trophy. His home burned down, and he lived in the Bar. He sued Major League Baseball, saying that he had not been able to receive a pension due to racism which prevented his breaking in. The case was dismissed as having been brought after the statute of limitations had passed. Eventually, though, Jethroe and some other Negro League players began receiving limited pensions from Major League Baseball, perhaps as a recognition that it was good public relations.