View source for Sam Jethroe

{{Short description|American baseball player (1917–2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Sam Jethroe
|position=[[Center fielder]]
|image=Sam Jethroe 1953.jpg
|caption=Jethroe with the Boston Braves
|bats=Both
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1917|1|23}}
|birth_place=[[Columbus, Mississippi]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2001|6|16|1917|1|23}}
|death_place=[[Erie, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|debutleague = NgL
|debutdate= 
|debutyear=1938
|debutteam=Indianapolis Clowns
|debut2league = MLB
|debut2date=April 18 
|debut2year=1950
|debut2team=Boston Braves
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=April 15
|finalyear=1954
|finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.277
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=59
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=282
|stat4label=[[Stolen base]]s
|stat4value=135
|teams=
'''Negro leagues'''
* [[St. Louis–New Orleans Stars|Indianapolis ABCs]] ({{by|1938}})
* [[Cleveland Buckeyes]] ({{by|1942}}–{{by|1948}})
'''Major League Baseball'''
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{mlby|1950}}–{{mlby|1952}})
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1954}})
|highlights=
* 5× [[East-West All-Star Game|East-West All-Star]] (1942, 1944–1947)
* [[Negro World Series]] Champion ([[1945 Negro World Series|1945]])
* 2× [[Negro American League]] batting champion (1944, 1945)
* 3× [[Negro American League|NAL]] stolen bases leader
* [[NL Rookie of the Year]] (1950)
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders|NL stolen base leader]] (1950, 1951)
}}
'''Samuel Jethroe''' (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001<!--dates taken from Social Security records-->),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/5f1c7cf9|last=Nowlin|first=Bill|title=Sam Jethroe|work=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|access-date=2019-01-01}}</ref> nicknamed "'''the Jet'''", was an American [[center fielder]] in [[Negro League baseball|Negro league]] and [[Major League Baseball]]. With the [[Cleveland Buckeyes|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 {{Baseball year|1945}} [[Negro World Series]] title. He was named the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]'s [[MLB Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]] in {{Baseball year|1950}} with the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]], and led the NL in [[stolen base]]s in his first two seasons.

== Early life ==
Nicknamed "the Jet" for his stunning speed, Jethroe was born in [[Columbus, Mississippi]] but grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Until late in his life he was believed to have been born in 1922, but more recent sources have given the year as 1917 or 1918. 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.

== Negro league career ==
From 1942 to 1948 he played for the Buckeyes of the [[Negro American League]], leading the league in stolen bases three times. He batted .487 in 39 [[at bat]]s 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 (Negro leagues)|Buster Brown]] and pitcher [[Smoky Owens]] were killed.

Jethroe received a physical deferment from military service in World War II. In 1943, he batted .291 while leading the league in both [[double (baseball)|doubles]] (8) and [[triple (baseball)|triples]] (4). In 1944, he won his first batting title with a .353 average, and led the league with 14 doubles and 18 steals. On April 16, 1945, following pressure from a Boston city councilman, Jethroe was one of three black players to try out for the [[Boston Red Sox]] on the recommendation of black sportswriter [[Wendell Smith (sportswriter)|Wendell Smith]]. After the tryout was observed by coaches [[Hugh Duffy]] and [[Larry Woodall]], he was turned away along with [[Marvin Williams (baseball)|Marvin Williams]] and [[Jackie Robinson]], as the Red Sox had no plans to integrate their roster.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news|title=Sam Jethroe Is Dead at 83; Was Oldest Rookie of the Year|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|date=July 19, 2001|work=[[The New York Times]]|via=[[LexisNexis]]|page=21}}</ref> Jethroe returned to the Buckeyes and won his second consecutive batting title with a .393 average, again leading the league with 10 triples and 21 stolen bases.<ref name="NYTobit"/> The Buckeyes won the pennant under player-manager [[Quincy Trouppe]] with a 53–16 record, and swept the [[Homestead Grays]] &ndash; loaded with aging stars such as [[Cool Papa Bell]], [[Buck Leonard]] and [[Jud Wilson]] &ndash; in the Negro World Series. Jethroe hit .333, and Cleveland's pitching dominated the Series as the Buckeyes outscored the Grays 15–3.

In {{Baseball year|1946}} Jethroe batted .310 and led the league in steals for the third straight year with 20. He batted .340 in {{Baseball year|1947}} as the Buckeyes took another pennant but lost the Negro World Series to the [[New York Cubans]] four games to one, although Jethroe hit .316. He was named to the [[East-West All-Star Game|East-West All-Star]] team five times (1942, 1944–47), and ended his Cleveland career with a .296 average in 1948.

== Major League career ==
Robinson broke baseball's [[baseball color line|color line]] with the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] in 1947. Seeing Robinson's success, Dodgers general manager [[Branch Rickey]] acquired Jethroe's services from Cleveland for a reported $5,000.<ref name="NYTobit"/> From 1948-49 he played for the Dodgers' [[Montreal Royals]] Triple A minor league team in the [[International League]], batting .322 after joining the team late in 1948, and leading the league with 89 stolen bases in 1949 while scoring 154 [[run (baseball)|runs]]. In October 1949, he was sold to the Boston Braves for $150,000.<ref name="NYTobit"/>

On April 18, 1950, Jethroe became the first black player on the Boston Braves roster, and collected two [[hit (baseball)|hits]] including a [[home run]]. He was named Rookie of the Year that season at age 32 (although he was then believed to be 28) after hitting .273 with 100 runs, 18 home runs and 58 [[run batted in|runs batted in]]; his 35 stolen bases topped the [[National League (baseball)|National League]], and were the most by any Braves player since [[Hap Myers]] stole 57 in 1913. He remains the oldest player to have won Rookie of the Year honors.<ref name="NYTobit"/> Jethroe enjoyed an almost identical but perhaps slightly improved season in {{Baseball year|1951}} when he posted better figures in batting (.280), runs (101), RBI (65), hits (160), doubles (29) and triples (10), and again hit 18 homers. He also repeated his 35 steals, once again to lead the league.<ref name="NYTobit"/>

In {{Baseball year|1952}} he slumped badly, hitting .232, and reportedly had vision trouble; rumors were also circulating that he was older than his listed age. His career was also marked by difficulty in the outfield, as he led the NL in [[error (baseball)|errors]] in each of his three full seasons, though he also led the league with 6 [[double play]]s as a rookie; his arm was not as accurate as those of most major league center fielders, and it was believed that he was playing too deep. In addition, he was among the NL's top four batters in [[strikeout]]s each year. On June 7 of his last year with the team, he hit the final [[grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] in Boston Braves history before the club moved to [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]].

Jethroe spent 1953 with the Triple-A [[Toledo Sox]], hitting .307. Before the {{Baseball year|1954}} season he was one of six players acquired by the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in exchange for infielder [[Danny O'Connell]], but Jethroe played only two games for the team, the last on April 15. After that, he spent the next five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League. Despite being among the league leaders in hits, runs and stolen bases during that period, his batting averages generally declined, and he never got another chance in the majors.

In a four-season major league career, he was a .261 hitter with 460 hits, 49 home runs, 280 runs, 181 RBI and 98 stolen bases in 442 games. He was called "the quickest human being I've ever seen" by former minor league teammate [[Don Newcombe]].<ref name="NYTobit"/>

== Later life ==
After his baseball career ended, Jethroe settled in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], where he worked in a local factory for several years, played in the city's semi-pro Glenwood League, then opened a bar. In 1994, Jethroe sued Major League Baseball in order to collect pension payments, as he was one of a host of other former Negro leaguers who couldn't qualify because of the racial discrimination of the 1940s and 1950s which delayed their professional careers.<ref name="NYTobit"/> While the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge, in 1997 Major League Baseball decided to give a yearly payment plan to Negro league veterans, including Jethroe.<ref name="NYTobit"/> He died of a heart attack in 2001 in Erie.

In 2019, the [[International League]] announced that Jethroe would be inducted into its [[International League Hall of Fame|hall of fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=International League Announces 2019 Hall of Fame Class |url=http://www.milb.com/documents/6/4/2/303278642/Class_of_2019_Announcement_Packet.pdf |website=International League |publisher=Minor League Baseball |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129195449/http://www.milb.com/documents/6/4/2/303278642/Class_of_2019_Announcement_Packet.pdf |archive-date=29 January 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[1949 Caribbean Series#Summary|1949 Caribbean Series]]
*[[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]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated. {{ISBN|1-892129-34-5}}.
*Holway, John (2001). ''The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History''. Fern Park, Florida: Hastings House. {{ISBN|0-8038-2007-0}}.''

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=116542|br=j/jethrsa01|brm=jethro001sam}} and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=jethr01sam Seamheads]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060908223208/http://www.nlbpa.com/jethroe__sam.html Negro League Baseball Players Association]
*{{find a Grave|22781}}

{{NL Rookie of the Year}}
{{NL stolen base champions}}
{{1945 Cleveland Buckeyes}}
{{Erie SeaWolves}}
{{2010–present International League Hall of Fame}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jethroe, Sam}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American baseball players]]
[[Category:Almendares (baseball) players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Cuba]]
[[Category:Boston Braves players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati/Cleveland Buckeyes players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Buckeyes players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis ABCs (1938) players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball center fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:Montreal Royals players]]
[[Category:National League stolen base champions]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:Sabios de Vargas players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from East St. Louis, Illinois]]
[[Category:Toledo Sox players]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Erie, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada]]