Sam jethroe biography

Samuel Jethroe (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001), nicknamed "the Jet", was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball.
Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "the Jet", was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball.
Sam Jethroe was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1950, playing for the Boston Braves, and the first African-American to play major-league baseball in.

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Samuel Jethroe

Samuel Jethroe
Nicknames: Sam, Sambo, The Jet
a.k.a. Jethrow

Career: 1938-1948
Positions: cf, lf, c
Teams: Indianapolis ABCs (1938), Cincinnati Buckeyes (1942), Cleveland Buckeyes (1943-1948), minor leagues (1948-1949, 1953-1958), major leagues (1950-1952, 1954)
Bats: Both
Throws: Right
Height: 6' 1'' Weight: 178
Born: January 20, 1918, East St. Louis, Illinois
Died: June 18, 2001, Erie, Pennsylvania

He was nicknamed "The Jet" because of his acceleration and speed, which was described by one player by saying that Jethroe could "outrun the word of God." During his seven years in the Negro American League, prior to signing with the major leagues, the quick outfielder established himself as the premier base stealer in the league. One opponent noticed that the speedster had a habit of pulling his pants leg up when he was going to run, but was still not able to stop him from successfully pilfering a base. In 1944-1945 the switch-hitter led the league in both batting, with averages of .353 and .393, and stolen bases, with 18 and 21

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Sam Jethroe

Near the end of his life, Jethroe struggled financially because he was denied a major-league pension for lack of sufficient service time.

At 6-feet-1 and 178 pounds in his prime, the switch-hitting Jethroe (who threw right-handed) was known as the “Jet” – and many considered him the fastest man in baseball in his day. He was a better than average batter, although not nearly as accomplished on defense.

After his playing career ended, when asked which year was his first in professional baseball, Jethroe told the Hall of Fame it was 1948. That was the year he first played in the minor leagues – in the outfield for the Montreal Royals, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ top farm team. He played in 76 games and hit for a .322 average, with just one homer and 25 RBIs. He wasn’t as much for driving in runs, but he got on base a lot and scored 52 runs. In Montreal again in 1949, he played a full 153 games and hit for a .326 average, with 83 RBIs and a league-leading 154 runs scored. He set a league record with 89 stolen bases. His 207 base hits and 19 triples also led the Intern

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Sam Jethroe

American baseball player (1917–2001)

Baseball player

Sam Jethroe
Jethroe with the Boston Braves
Center fielder
Born:(1917-01-23)January 23, 1917 Columbus, Mississippi, U.S.
Died: June 16, 2001(2001-06-16) (aged 84) Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NgL: 1938, for the Indianapolis Clowns
MLB: April 18, 1950, for the Boston Braves
April 15, 1954, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Batting average	.277
Home runs	59
Runs batted in	282
Stolen bases	135
Stats at Baseball Reference
Negro leagues Major League Baseball

Samuel Jethroe (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001),^[1] nicknamed "the Jet", was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. With the 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 1945Negro World Series title. He was named the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1950 with the Boston Braves, and led