Alex Kampouris

Alexis William Kampouris

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 155 lb.
• School Sacramento City College
• High SchoolSacramento High School
• Debut July 31, 1934
• Final Game September 23, 1943
• Born November 13, 1912 in Sacramento, CA USA
• Died May 29, 1993 in Sacramento, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Alex Kampouris played nine seasons in the major leagues, mostly in the National League, and mostly as a second baseman. While in the majors, he was touted for his Greek heritage as a way of inducing Greek Americans to come to the games. (Source: article entitled "Comparative Ethnicity", appearing in Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and the American Culture).

Alex was born, and died, in Sacramento, CA, and began his professional career there at age 19 with the Sacramento Senators of the Pacific Coast League.

After three seasons with Sacramento, Kampouris made his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds in 1934. Alex became a regular with the Reds in 1935 and played with them into the 1938 season. On May 9, 1937, he hit 3 homers and drove in 8 runs, leading the Reds to a 21-10 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, and becoming the only player to record a 3 HR/8 RBI game at the Baker Bowl. Kampouris had a grand slam homer in that game and another on June 6th at Ebbets Field against the Brooklyn Dodgers. For the season, he totaled 17 home runs, sixth best in the league.

In 1938 Alex was traded to the New York Giants for Wally Berger. He was the Giants' regular second baseman for the remainder of that season, then shared that role with Burgess Whitehead in 1939. The Giants traded Kamporis to the New York Yankees after that season, but Alex was unable to crack the roster of the defending world champions and spent the entire 1940 season with the Newark Bears of the International League, a team featuring a plethora of future major leaguers, including Tommy Byrne, Hank Borowy, Tommy Holmes, Hank Majeski and Snuffy Stirnweiss. Alex had a fine season with Newark, placing second in the league with 36 homers, a performance that caught the attention of the Brooklyn Dodgers who acquired him after the season.

Kampouris was the Dodgers' everyday second baseman to start the 1941 season, posting a .314/.444/.588 slash in 16 games, but when Brooklyn acquired Billy Herman in an early season trade with the Chicago Cubs, Alex spent the rest of that season and most of the following campaign with the International League's Montreal Royals. Kampouris was traded to the Washington Senators in 1943 in what would be his final major league season.

After two years of military service, Kampouris finished his professional career where it began, with three more Pacific Coast League seasons for the Sacramento team now known as the Solons.

After retiring from baseball, Alex worked for the Sacramento city Parks and Recreation Department and later for the Sacramento County Marshal's Office.