imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:People from Talladega, Alabama to Category:Sportspeople from Talladega, Alabama using Cat-a-lot

2025-05-15T06:26:37Z

Moving from Category:People from Talladega, Alabama to Category:Sportspeople from Talladega, Alabama using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|American baseball player (1921–1999)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Dave Pope
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|image=Dave Pope 1955 Bowman.jpg
|caption=
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1921|6|17}}
|birth_place=[[Talladega, Alabama]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1999|8|28|1921|6|17}}
|death_place=[[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
|debutleague = NgL
|debutdate=
|debutyear=1946
|debutteam=Homestead Grays
|debut2league = MLB
|debut2date=July 1
|debut2year=1952
|debut2team=Cleveland Indians
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 30
|finalyear=1956
|finalteam=Cleveland Indians
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.265
|stat2label=[[Home runs]]
|stat2value=12
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=73
|teams=
;Negro leagues
*[[Homestead Grays]] (1946)
;Major League Baseball
*[[Cleveland Indians]] (1952, 1954–1955, 1956)
*[[Baltimore Orioles]] (1955–1956)
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}
| branch = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears = 1943–1946 }}
}}
'''David Pope''' (June 17, 1921 – August 28, 1999) was an American [[Negro league]] and [[Major League Baseball]] [[outfielder]] who played one inning for the [[Homestead Grays]] and for four seasons in MLB for the [[Cleveland Indians]] in 1952, and from 1954 to 1955. He then played for the [[Baltimore Orioles]] after being traded from 1955 to 1956, then was traded back to Cleveland for the remainder of the 1956 season. He left MLB behind on September 30, 1956.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=pope--001dav|title=Baseball Reference|access-date=15 August 2019}}</ref>

==Early life==

Pope, the son of Jackson and Mary Pope, was one of eleven siblings.<ref name=malik_smith>Smith, Malik. "[http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10167/1065862-122.stm Obituary: William "Willie" Pope / Negro Leagues pitcher for the Grays, Crawfords]", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 16, 2010.</ref> His older brother [[Willie Pope]] was a notable [[Negro league baseball]] player for the [[Homestead Grays]] and [[Pittsburgh Crawfords]].<ref name=malik_smith /> Pope served in the [[US Army]] from 1943 until 1946, at [[Camp Lee]] in Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.baseballinwartime.com/negro.htm |title=Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII |publisher=baseballinwartime.com |date= |accessdate=October 7, 2020}}</ref>

==Baseball career==

Pope joined the [[Homestead Grays]] of the [[Negro National League (1933–1948)|Negro National League]] after his Army discharge in 1946, but only played one inning in [[right field]] and never had a turn at the plate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dave Pope |url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=pope-01dav&tab=fld |website=Seamhead.com |access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref> He then played for the minor league [[United States League]]'s Pittsburgh Crawfords and other independent Negro league teams. In 1950, he was signed by [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Cleveland Indians]] and debuted with them in 1952.<ref>{{cite web |title=O-Q 2018-04 |url=https://irp.cdn-website.com/33d0c3d0/files/uploaded/O-Q%202018-04.pdf |website=Center for Negro League Baseball Research |access-date=1 February 2022 |page=309}}</ref>

Although his major league career spanned roughly four years, Pope has a place in the photo and film archive for Game 1 of the [[1954 World Series]], as part of a play which contrasted with [[Willie Mays]]'s famous [[The Catch (baseball)|catch]]. In the top of the 8th inning, [[Vic Wertz]] of Cleveland had hit a deep fly ball (400 or more feet) to center field which had been pulled down by Mays for a very long out. In the last of the 10th inning, Giants' pinch-hitter [[Dusty Rhodes (outfielder)|Dusty Rhodes]] hit a shallow fly ball, well under 300 feet, toward the cozy right field area of the [[Polo Grounds]]. Pope, who had been brought into the game in the late innings, ran over and leaped as high as he could but was a couple of feet short of being able to catch Rhodes' fly ball, which landed in the first row of seats for the game-winning home run.[http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-U1068558.jpg?size=67&uid=4f2c12ec-b64f-4d50-87c3-0fce2171d895]

Pope was acquired along with [[Wally Westlake]] and cash by the [[1955 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] from the [[1955 Cleveland Indians season|Indians]] for [[Gene Woodling]] and [[Billy Cox (baseball)|Billy Cox]] before the trade deadline on June 15, 1955.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19550616&id=F3w0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=iskEAAAAIBAJ&pg=692,2103295 "Cleveland Swaps Westlake, Pope for Woodling and Billy Cox," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Thursday, June 16, 1955.] Retrieved February 18, 2023.</ref> His 1956 Topps baseball card for the Orioles gave him some vicarious redemption for that failed leap in 1954: It included a colorized drawing based on the black-and-white picture, but with the ball in his glove.[http://caimages.collectors.com/psacertimages/23774_1600x954.jpg]

In 1141.2 innings playing at all three outfield positions, Pope recorded a .990 [[fielding percentage]], committing only 3 errors in 315 [[total chances]].

==Family and death==

Pope died in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999 and was buried at [[Lake View Cemetery]] in the same city.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bona|first=Marc|title=9 Famous Baseball Graves in Lake View Cemetery|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 25, 2018|accessdate=January 2, 2020|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/erry-2018/04/4cb3b4af545532/9_famous_baseball_graves_in_la.html}}</ref>

Pope's daughter, Linda is an ophthalmologist in Houston, Texas and her son, Pope's grandson, David Pegram, performed in the 2011 [[Tony Award]] Winner for Best Play, "[[War Horse (play)|War Horse]]."

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}

* [[List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball]]

==References==

<references />

==External links==

{{Baseballstats|br=p/popeda01| brm=pope--001dav}}
*[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/P/Ppoped101.htm Retrosheet]
* {{Find a Grave|8462}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Dave}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American baseball players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians scouts]]
[[Category:Farnham Pirates players]]
[[Category:Homestead Grays players]]
[[Category:Houston Buffs players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Gavilanes de Maracaibo players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball outfielders]]
[[Category:Patriotas de Venezuela players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Talladega, Alabama]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Talladega County, Alabama]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Crawfords players]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Santa Marta (baseball club) players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players]]
[[Category:Wilkes-Barre Indians players]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]

Dave Pope - Revision history

imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:People from Talladega, Alabama to Category:Sportspeople from Talladega, Alabama using Cat-a-lot