Sammy White

From BR Bullpen

Samuel Charles White

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.
School University of Washington
Debut September 26, 1951
Final Game August 19, 1962
Born July 7, 1928 in Wenatchee, WA USA
Died September 4, 1991 in Princeville, HI USA

1 Biographical Information
2 Notable Achievements
3 Records Held
4 Sources

[edit] Biographical Information

Six foot three inch Sammy White was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season. The 21 year old catcher would spend three years in the minors (1949-1951) never returning, and spend the balance of his baseball career in the major leagues. Sammy is the only player in big league history since 1900 to score three runs in one inning when he crossed the plate three times in the Red Sox record 17 run inning in a 23-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on June 18, 1953.

Sammy would be the Red Sox catcher in over 100 games for eight straight seasons from 1952 to 1959. He hit .281 as a rookie in 1952 and a career high .284 in his final year with the Red Sox in 1959, but had his most productive year at the plate in 1954 when he hit .282 with career highs in home runs with 14 and RBIs with 75.

Sammy was an outstanding defensive receiver who led the American League in assists from behind the plate for four straight years from 1953 to 1956. His 967 games as a Red Sox Catcher stood as the franchise record until broken by Carlton Fisk during the 1980 season.

Sammy could be a character on the field. On June 11, 1952, he hit a grand slam home run off Satchel Paige of the St. Louis Browns and completed his trip around the bases by crawling from third base to home, then kissing the plate. White went on the voluntarily retired list after the 1959 season, but returned for two more years in a backup role for the Milwaukee Braves in 1961 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1962, before concluding his eleven year run with a lifetime .262 average.

After baseball White returned to Boston and owned a bowling alley in Brighton, MA, before later joining his Red Sox batterymate Frank Sullivan in Hawaii. He was a golf pro at the Hanalei golf course in Princeville, HI, where he died September 4, 1991, at age 64.