Pumpsie Green

Pumpsie Green

Green in 2012
Infielder
Born: (1933-10-27) October 27, 1933
Boley, Oklahoma
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 21, 1959, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1963, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Batting average .246
Home runs 13
Runs batted in 74
Teams

Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green (born October 27, 1933) is a former Major League Baseball backup infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed.

Green had the distinction of being the first black player to play for the Red Sox, the last pre-expansion major-league club to integrate. In his Boston tenure, he was used mostly as a pinch runner or day-off replacement for infielders Pete Runnels and Don Buddin. He made his debut on July 21, 1959, pinch-running in a 2-1 loss against the White Sox.

Early life

Green was born in Boley, Oklahoma, the eldest of five children. One brother, Cornell Green, was a long-time safety for the Dallas Cowboys. Another brother, Credell Green, played football at the University of Washington and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.[1][2]

Green was named Elijah, after his father, but his mother called him "Pumpsie" from an early age.[2] Green grew up in Richmond, California, and was a three-sport athlete at El Cerrito High School.

Since major-league baseball had not yet expanded to the West Coast, Green grew up a fan of the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Green later stated that he may have been even better at basketball, but chose to play baseball when he was offered a baseball scholarship at Fresno State University. However, Green decided to attend Contra Costa College when Gene Corr, his high school baseball coach, became the baseball coach there and promised Green he would play shortstop if he attended.[2] In Green's final year of college, he tried out for the Oaks, and was signed to a contract.

Minor league career

In 1954, Green batted .297 in his second season with the Wenatchee Chiefs, an affiliate of the Oaks. In 1955, he was promoted to the Stockton Ports, the Oaks' top affiliate. Green's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox during the 1955 season, but he was allowed to finish the season with Stockton before playing the 1956 season with the Albany Senators, a Red Sox affiliate.[2] Green spent the 1957 season with the Oklahoma City Indians and San Francisco Seals, and the 1958 season with the Minneapolis Millers.

In 1959, Green was invited to the Red Sox's major league spring training camp. Despite playing well and receiving much media attention, Green was sent back to Minneapolis. However, after hitting .320 through 98 games, he was promoted to the major league Red Sox on July 21, 1959.[3][4]

Major league career

Green made his debut as a pinch runner against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. He also started the next game at second base, going 0-for-3. His first at bat at Fenway was a triple off the Green Monster. One week after Green's debut, pitcher Earl Wilson was called up, becoming the Red Sox's second black player. Green would play 50 games during the 1959 season, batting .233 and playing second base almost exclusively.[4]

Green enjoyed a much more full-time role in 1960, playing 133 games, 69 at second base and 41 at shortstop.[4]

Green may have had his best season in 1961, posting career highs in home runs (6), RBI (27), doubles (12), and stolen bases (4), although he also had the most errors of his career that year, with 16. Despite a hot start to the season, Green developed an appendicitis in Washington, D.C. in May, which put him out of the lineup for about four weeks, and kept him from playing at full strength for even longer.[2]

In 1962, after a weekend of humiliating losses to the New York Yankees, Green along with Gene Conley got off the bus in the middle of a traffic jam in the Bronx. They were not spotted until 3 days later by a New York Post sports reporter at the Idlewild International Airport trying to board a plane for Israel, with no passports or luggage.[5]

After the 1962 season, Green was traded to the New York Mets along with Tracy Stallard and Al Moran in exchange for Felix Mantilla. Green played the majority of the 1963 season with the Buffalo Bisons, but also played 17 games with the Mets. He played his final major league game with the Mets on September 26, 1963, although Green would play two more seasons in the minor leagues before retiring after the 1965 season.[3] In a five-season major league career, Green was a .246 hitter with 13 home runs and 74 RBI in 344 games.[4]

After baseball

After retiring from playing baseball, Green worked at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California for over 20 years, coaching baseball and teaching math in summer school.[2] Green has lived in El Cerrito, California since 7 years after his retirement from baseball. He has been married to his wife, Marie, for over 50 years.[6]

On April 17, 2009, Green was honored by the Red Sox in a first-pitch ceremony, in recognition of 50 years since his breaking of the Red Sox color barrier.[7] In February 2012, Green was honored by the city of El Cerrito, and presented with a proclamation honoring his "distinguished stature in baseball history."[6] In April 2012, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Jackie Robinson day at Fenway Park, and also attended Fenway's 100th anniversary celebrations later that month.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Raley, Dan. "Where Are They Now: Credell Green". seattlepi.com. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Crehan, Herb (2005). Red Sox Heroes Of Yesteryear. Rounder Records. p. 120. ISBN 157940118X.
  3. 1 2 "Pumpsie Green Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Pumpsie Green Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  5. ↑ The Red Sox Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1991. p. 33. ISBN 0-395-58776-X.
  6. 1 2 Burress, Charles. "History-Making Pumpsie Green Thanks City". elcerrito.patch.com. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Edwards, Lauren. "Pumpsie Green Changed the Face of the Red Sox for the Better". nesn.com. New England Sports Network. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Florence, Bob. "Rockets once ruled Indian Head". thestarphoenix.com. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (20 April 2012). "Stirring Memories of Better Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
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