Ray Dandridge

Ray Dandridge
Third baseman
Born:(1913-08-31)August 31, 1913 Richmond, Virginia,U.S.
Died:February 12, 1994(1994-02-12)(aged 80) Palm Bay, Florida,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
Negro leagues debut
1933, for the Indianapolis ABCs/Detroit Stars
Last Negro leagues appearance
1944, for the Newark Eagles
Negro leagues statistics
Batting average	.319
Home runs	4
Runs batted in	146
Teams
Indianapolis ABCs/Detroit Stars(1933) Nashville Elite Giants(1933) Newark Dodgers(1933–1935) Newark Eagles(1936–1939, 1942, 1944)
Career highlights and awards
3×All-Star(1935, 1937, 1944) American AssociationMVP (1950) Inducted toMexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame(1989)
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1987
Election method	Veterans Committee

Raymond Emmitt Dandridge(August 31, 1913 – February 12, 1994), nicknamed "Hooks"and"Squat",was an Americanthird basemaninbaseball'sNegro leagues.Dandridge excelled as a third baseman and he hit for a highbatting average.By the time thatMajor League Baseballwas racially integrated, Dandridge was considered too old to play. He worked as a major leaguescoutafter his playing career ended. In 1999, Dandridge was inducted into theVirginia Sports Hall of Fameand, late in his life, Dandridge was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Famein 1987.

Early life

Dandridge was born inRichmond, Virginia,to Archie and Alberta Thompson Dandridge.

He played several sports as a child, including baseball, football and bo xing. After sustaining a leg injury in football, Dandridge's father made him quit that sport. He focused on baseball, often playing with a bat improvised from a tree branch and a golf ball wrapped in string and tape.

Dandridge lived for a while inBuffalo, New York,before he and his family returned to Richmond.He played baseball locally for teams in Richmond'sChurch Hilldistrict. Dandridge became known for his short, bowed legs, which later led to nicknames including "Hooks" and "Squat".While playing for a local team in 1933, Dandridge was discovered byIndianapolis ABCs/Detroit StarsmanagerCandy Jim Taylor.

Career

He played for the Stars in 1933 and for theNewark Dodgers,which were later called the Newark Eagles, from 1934 to 1938. While with the Eagles, Dandridge was part of the "Million Dollar Infield" that also consisted ofDick Seay,Mule Suttles,andWillie Wells.

In 1939, badly underpaid by the Eagles, Dandridge moved to theMexican League,where he played for nine of the next ten seasons, rejoining the Eagles for one last season in 1944.Bill Veeckof theCleveland Indianscalled Dandridge in 1947 and asked him to come play in the Cleveland organization. Though that might have given him the chance to be the first black major league player, Dandridge turned it down because he did not want to move his family from Mexico. He also realized that he had been treated well by club ownerJorge Pasquel,who was paying him $10,000 per season plus living expenses.

Pasquel died the next year in a plane crash, prompting Dandridge to return to the United States as a player-managerfor theNew York Cubans.Although more than capable of playing in the majors, he never got the call to the big leagues, instead spending the last years of his career as the premier player inTriple-A baseball,batting.362 and leading allAmerican Associationthird basemen infielding percentagein 1949. He batted.360 in his last minor league season in1955.

Dandridge was one of the greatest fielders in the history of baseball, and one of the sport's greatest hitters for average.Monte Irvin,who played both in the Negro leagues and the major leagues and saw every great fielding third baseman of two generations, said that Dandridge was the greatest of them all, adding that Dandridge almost never committed more than twoerrorsin a season. Dandridge was also a tutor to the youngWillie Mays.Because of the "gentlemen's agreement"not to allow African Americans in Major League Baseball, Dandridge was dismissed as being too old by the time of integration.

Later life

Plaque of Ray Dandridge at theBaseball Hall of Fame

After retiring from playing in 1955, Dandridge worked as a scout for theSan Francisco Giantsand later ran a recreation center inNewark, New Jersey.He lived his final years inPalm Bay, Florida.He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Famein1987.He died at age 80 in Palm Bay.

Dandridge's nephew, Brad Dandridge, played professional baseballfrom 1993 to 1998, primarily in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Further reading

• Dawidoff, Nicholas(July 8, 1987)."Big Call From The Hall: Negro leaguer Ray Dandridge hears from Cooperstown".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedFebruary 12,2020– via si /vault.
• Kuenster, John(July 1987)."Willie Mays Recalls Help Ray Dandridge Gave Him in the Long Ago".Baseball Digest.RetrievedJune 15,2009– viaGoogle Books.
• Langs, Sarah (February 12, 2020)."Ray Dandridge: Best 3B to never make the Majors".MLB.RetrievedFebruary 12,2020.
• Vecsey, George(May 10, 1987)."Sports of the Times; Ray Dandridge, The Hall of Fame and 'Fences'".New York Times.RetrievedJune 15,2009.

External links

• Ray Dandridgeat theBaseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information fromMLB,orBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)andSeamheads