| Enos Slaughter | |
|---|---|
 Slaughter with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948 | |
| Right fielder | |
| Born:(1916-04-27)April 27, 1916 Roxboro, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: August 12, 2002(2002-08-12) (aged 86) Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 19, 1938, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1959, for the Milwaukee Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .300 |
| Hits | 2,383 |
| Home runs | 169 |
| Runs batted in | 1,304 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1985 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an AmericanMajor League Baseball (MLB)right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted primarily for his playing for theSt. Louis Cardinals and famouslyscored the winning run in Game 7 of the1946 World Series for the Cardinals. A ten-timeAll-Star, he has been elected to both theNational Baseball Hall of Fame andSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Slaughter was born inRoxboro, North Carolina, where he earned the nickname "Country".[1] In 1935, scoutBilly Southworth signed him for theSt. Louis Cardinals.[2]
TheMartinsville Manufacturers were Slaughter's first professional team, in 1935.[2] When Slaughter was a minor leaguer inColumbus, Georgia, he went running towards the dugout from his position in the outfield, slowed down near the infield, and began walking the rest of the way. ManagerEddie Dyer told him, "Son, if you're tired, we'll try to get you some help." During the remainder of his major-league career, Slaughter ran everywhere he went on a baseball field.[3] In 1937, he had 245 hits and 147 runs scored for Columbus.[4]
Slaughter batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was renowned for his smooth swing that made him a reliable "contact" hitter. Slaughter had 2,383hits in his major league career, including 169home runs, and 1,304RBI in 2,380 games.[5] Slaughter played 19 seasons with theSt. Louis Cardinals,New York Yankees,Kansas City Athletics, andMilwaukee Braves. During that period, he was a ten-time All-Star and played in five World Series. His 1,820 games played ranks fifth in Cardinals' history behindYadier Molina,Ozzie Smith,Lou Brock, andStan Musial. He presently ranks third in RBI with 1,148; sixth in ABs with 6,775; and seventh in doubles with 366.
After debuting with the Cardinals in 1938, Slaughter became an everydayoutfielder for them in 1939.[2]
Slaughter served for three years in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He was a sergeant who taught physical education.[6] Slaughter helped set up baseball teams inTinian andSaipan, and their games inspired the troops while drawing upwards of 20,000 spectators.[7] Immediately upon return from his military service in 1946, Slaughter led the National League with 130 RBI and led the Cardinals to aWorld Series win over theBoston Red Sox. In the decisive seventh game of that series, Slaughter, running with the pitch, made a famous "Mad Dash" for home from first base onHarry Walker's hit in the eighth inning, scoring the winning run that beat the throw ofJohnny Pesky from the outfield.[8][9][10][11] Walker's hit was ruled a double, although some observers felt it should have been ruled a single, with the throw home allowing Walker to advance to second base. This play was named No. 10 on theSporting News list of Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments in 1999.[12]
Slaughter was known for his hustle, especially for running hard to first base onwalks, a habit later imitated byPete Rose andDavid Eckstein.
Slaughter was reported at the time as being one of the leaders in racial taunting against the first black major league player,Jackie Robinson, and was accused of conspiring with teammateTerry Moore in an attempt to get the Cardinals to refuse to play Brooklyn with Robinson on the field. SportswriterBob Broeg, who covered the team at that time, refutes this claim and says that NL presidentFord C. Frick considered the Cardinals fairer towards Robinson than any of the other teams.[13] Slaughter later injured Robinson during a game by inflicting a seven-inch gash from his shoe spikes on Robinson's leg. Slaughter denied that he had any animosity towards Robinson, claiming that such allegations had been made against him because he was "a Southern boy", and that the injury suffered by Robinson had been typical of Slaughter's rough playing style.[14] None of the contemporary accounts of the spiking suggested that the incident was intentional,[7] although the August 21, 1947 edition ofSt. Louis Star and Times quoted Dodgers' second-basemanEddie Stanky as saying, "Slaughter deliberately spiked Robinson. I always had the highest regard for Slaughter. He is one of the keenest competitors I know, and I admire him for it. But that was the first time he spiked someone deliberately. I've lost all my respect for him."[15] In the Ken BurnsBaseball documentary, it was claimed that Slaughter, despite easily being out, ran and jumped at Robinson, cutting his thigh open. Most other accounts state that the cut was on Robinson's calf, and it was non-intentional, that Slaughter's spike caught Robinson while he was trying to beat the throw to first and Robinson was just not able to pull his leg away in time.[citation needed]
With the Yankees, Slaughter did not play as much, but he excelled as apinch hitter for the ballclub.[7] He batted fifth and played in left field in Game 5 of the1956 World Series in which teammateDon Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, a 2–0 Yankees win. At age 40, he was the oldest player for either team in the game.
Slaughter retired from major league baseball in 1959. He was a player-manager for theHouston Buffs of theTexas League in 1960 and forRaleigh Capitals of theCarolina League in 1961.[16] Slaughter coached baseball forDuke University from 1971 to 1977.[17][7] He provided aid to causes such as the Duke Children's Classic, the Person County Museum of History, and Piedmont Community College.[7]
Slaughter had five wives, each of whom he divorced. He had four daughters: Gaye, Patricia, Rhonda, and Sharon.[18]Henry Slaughter, his cousin, was a well-known southern gospel musician. Slaughter also mentoredLou Brock when he joined the Cardinals.[7]
Slaughter died at age 86 on August 12, 2002.[19] He had battlednon-Hodgkin lymphoma, and two weeks before his death, he had undergone colon surgery to fix torn stomach ulcers.[7] He was buried at Allensville United Methodist Church inPerson County, North Carolina.[20]
Slaughter was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1985.[1]
His jersey number 9 was retired by the Cardinals on September 6, 1996.
The Cardinals dedicated a statue depicting his famous Mad Dash in 1999.[21] Slaughter was a fixture at statue dedications atBusch Stadium II for other Cardinal Hall of Famers during the last years of his life.
In 2013, theBob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Slaughter as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Army Air Force during World War II.[22]
In January, 2014, the Cardinals announced Slaughter among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of2014.[23]
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