| Bill White | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1934-01-28)January 28, 1934 (age 91) Lakewood, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 7, 1956, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 24, 1969, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .286 |
| Home runs | 202 |
| Runs batted in | 870 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William DeKova White (born January 28, 1934) is an American former professionalbaseballfirst baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theNew York / San Francisco Giants,St. Louis Cardinals, andPhiladelphia Phillies. He was an eight-timeAll-Star and seven-timeGold Glove winner who earned a championship as a top contributor in the1964 World Series.
White became a full-timesportscaster after his playing career ended in 1969 and was the play-by-play man and color analyst forNew York Yankees television and radio broadcasts for 18 years.
In 1989, White was elected President of theNational League to replaceBart Giamatti, who succeededPeter Ueberroth asCommissioner. White served as NL president until he retired in 1994.
White was born on January 28, 1934, inLakewood, Florida. When White was 3, his mother and grandmother moved toWarren, Ohio, where they lived in a segregated housing project. White's mother worked to support the family, and he was raised by his grandmother.[1][2][3]
White graduated fromWarren G. Harding High School inWarren, Ohio in 1952, and was both president andsalutatorian of his class.[4] Because White was African American, Harding's principal ended the school tradition of the class president dancing with the prom queen (who was white that year).[1]
He then stayed in-state to attendHiram College from 1953 to 1955. He chose the school because of itspre-med program. In both high school and college, White lettered in baseball, basketball, and football.[4][3]
White was scouted by the New York Giants while playing in a tournament for Hiram College. He tried out for Giants managerLeo Durocher. The Giants offered White $1,000 to sign with them. He wanted more so he could pay for college. After the Giants raised the offer to $2,500 he signed with the Giants, on the condition that he could complete college. He put his plans for becoming a doctor on hold while he pursued baseball, to see if he could make it into major league baseball in 3–4 years.[1][3][5] While he returned to college each year after playing minor league baseball, in 1955 his focus turned completely to baseball, and White did not finish college.[5]
In 1953, at age 19, White was assigned to theDanville Leafs (Virginia) of theClass BCarolina League.[1] As a minor-leaguer, White was the second black American to play for a Carolina League team, and was the only black player on his team.Percy Miller Jr. broke the color barrier for that league in 1951.[6] White had an excellent year, with a .298batting average, 20home runs, 99runs scored, 84runs batted in (RBI), and 21stolen bases.[7] However, the league's fans subjected White to a level of racial abuse and invective than he had never experienced before, and he called it the worst year of his life. On one occasion, his teammates had to protect him "behind a shield of bats" from a rock-throwing crowd inBurlington, North Carolina.[5]
White playedSingle-A ball in 1954, batting .319, with 30 home runs, 120 runs scored, 92 RBIs, 40 stolen bases, and a .967on base plus slugging percentage (OPS). At Double-A in 1955, for theDallas Eagles of theTexas League, he hit .295, with 22 home runs, 88 runs scored, 93 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, and a .862 OPS.[7] In 1956, he played 20 games for theMinneapolis Millers of theTriple-A American Association, when he was called up to the Giants.[5][7]
In his 13-season major league career, Whitebatted .286 with 202home runs and 870RBIs in 1,673 games.[2]
In White's first game with the Giants on May 7, 1956, he hit a home run in his first major leagueat bat in the second inning.[8] White played 138 games that year as the Giants first baseman, hitting .256 with 22 home runs. He did not play in 1957, due to military service.[2] White rejoined the team in July 1958, after the Giants had moved to San Francisco, playing in only 26 games.[5][2] If he stayed with the Giants, White would have to compete for the first base job with future Hall of Fame playerOrlando Cepeda,[9] the 1958 Rookie of the Year, and up and coming future Hall of Fame first basemanWillie McCovey.[10][5] On March 25, 1959, White was traded withRay Jablonski to St. Louis Cardinals forSam Jones andDon Choate.[11]
White played for the Cardinals from 1959 through 1965, never hitting below .283, and surpassing .300 four times.[2] He made theNational League (NL) All-Star team every one of those years except 1962. However, in 1962, he had his highest career batting average (.324), his career-high OPS (.868), along with 93 runs scored, and 102 RBIs. He also won aGold Glove at first base that year, and was 13th in NLMost Valuable Player (MVP) voting.[2][12]
His best statistical year came in1963 when he posted career highs with 200 hits, 106 runs scored, 27 home runs, and 109 RBIs.[2] White was a consistent performer, particularly during the1962-64 seasons. During those three seasons, he had highly productive and notably consistent numbers for hits (199, 200, 191), runs (93, 106, 92), home runs (20, 27, 21), runs batted in (102, 109, 102), and average (.324, .304, .303).[2] During the1964 Cardinals championship season, White placed third in the league MVP voting for his overall seasonal performance. He had a subpar postseason, batting only .111 (3–27 with 2 RBIs) in theWorld Series.[2][13][14]
A capable baserunner, White stole 12 or more bases four times.[2] He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straightGold Glove Awards (1960–66).[12] Whitehit for the cycle on August 14, 1960,[15] and once hit three home runs in a game, on July 5, 1961.[16] Also in July 1961, White tiedTy Cobb's 49-year Major League record by collecting 14 hits in consecutivedoubleheaders, both against theChicago Cubs atSportsman's Park, going 4-for-5 in both games on July 17 and 3-for-4 in both games the very next day.[17] Ironically, the first doubleheader was played on the same day Cobb died and 49 years to the day after Cobb collected eight hits to begin his feat.[17][18]
On October 27, 1965, the Cardinals traded White,Dick Groat andBob Uecker to Philadelphia Phillies forPat Corrales,Art Mahaffey andAlex Johnson.[11] In 1966, White hit .276, with 22 home runs, 85 runs scored and 103 RBIs in 159 games, and was 23rd in MVP voting. Those numbers steadily declined in the following two seasons, after tearing his Achilles Tendon in the 1966 off-season.[2][3] The Phillies traded White back to the Cardinals forJim Hutto andJerry Buchek in April 1969, his final season. He played sparingly in only 49 games.[2]
White earned a sports program onKMOX radio in St. Louis while he was still playing for the Cardinals, after being chided by then Cardinals' sports broadcasterHarry Caray to try out.[5] Following his trade to the Phillies, in 1966, after a meeting with executive produced Lew Klein of Philadelphia'sWFIL-TV television station (now WPVI-TV), White pre-recorded a pre-game show for Phillies baseball games.[1] During the off-season, White became a sportscaster for WFIL-TV.[1] He was WFIL's first sports director when it launched its long-runningAction News format in 1970 (with news anchorLarry Kane and weathercaster Frank Davis).[1] While in Philadelphia, White became the first African-American to broadcastNHL games when he called several games of thePhiladelphia Flyers.[19][5]
In1971, White joined theNew York Yankees' broadcast team. He called Yankee games from1971 to1988, most often teamed withPhil Rizzuto andFrank Messer.[20] White did the team's broadcasts on both radio and television during most of that stretch. White was the first regular black play-by-play announcer for a major-league sports team.[21][1]
On New York City radio, White was featured onWMCA from 1971 to1977, after which the Yankees switched over toWINS. In1981, the Yankee broadcast team moved over toWABC. On television, White worked with Rizzuto and Messer onWPIX.
Nationally, White helped call severalWorld Series forCBS Radio (1976,1977,1978,1987, and1988)[20] and did sports reports for the network. White worked as aMonday Night Baseball announcer forABC television in the late 1970s.[20] He also did pre-game reports for ABC's coverage of the Yankee Stadium games in the 1977 World Series, and handled the post-game trophy presentation for the network after the Yankees clinched the world title in the sixth game.
WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in1976,1977,1978,1980 and1981, providing New York viewers a local alternative to the nationally broadcast telecasts.[citation needed] The most famous highlight with White on play-by-play was theBucky Dent three-run home run during theone-game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox in 1978 on WPIX.
Outside of baseball, White was also part of the coverage of theWinter Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. He also broadcast college basketball games of the Philadelphia Big 5 in the mid to late 1970's.
White was elected to replace Giamatti as National League president in1989 in a unanimous vote, becoming the first black executive to hold such a high position in sports.[22] He served as NL president through1994.[20] In his autobiography, he later expressed the concern that he had about having been more of a figurehead while NL president, but he also said that he managed to accomplish some of the goals that he originally had when he took the job.[23]
For several years, beginning just after his retirement from the NL, White was a member of the Veterans Committee of theBaseball Hall of Fame. White was important in the selection of former Yankees' shortstopPhil Rizzuto to the Hall of Fame. White, along with fellow newcomers to the committeeYogi Berra (a longtime Rizzuto teammate), and Rizzuto's top rival and stand-out shortstop for the perennial pennant-winningNLBrooklyn Dodgers,Pee Wee Reese, were noted for having helped swing the vote in favor of the Yankee shortstop's candidacy during their first year on the committee.[24][25][26]
On May 22, 2020, White was elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame along withTom Herr andJohn Tudor.[27]
The Yankee organization showed their appreciation following his years in the broadcast booth when they selected him to receive their Pride of the Yankees Award in 1990.[28]
Before White was inducted into the US Army, he married his high school sweetheart, Mildred Hightower, on November 20, 1956. They would have five children before they divorced in the 1980s. White currently resides inUpper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania.[29]
In2011, White released his autobiography entitledUppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play.[30][31][32][33]
On July 18, 1961 — In consecutive doubleheaders played at Busch Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Bill White ties Ty Cobb's 49 year-old record by collecting 14 hits in four games when he goes 3-for-4 in both games of the sweep over the Cubs. The future NL president started the streak, ironically, on the day the Georgia Peach died, going 8-for-10 in yesterday's twin bill, also against Chicago.
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle August 14, 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by | World Series national radio color commentator 1987–1988 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
