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Campanella, Roy
Died: 1993 AD, at 71 years of age.
Nationality: American
Categories: Athlete, Baseball Player
1921 - Born on the 19th of November in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Major league baseball's first black catcher.
1937 - He was with the Bacharach Giants, a semi-pro team, but before the season ended he was the starting catcher for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League.
1942 - He went to the Mexican League.
1944 - Returned to the Giants.
1946 - Signed with the Dodgers.
1948 - After two seasons in the minor leagues, he was with the Dodgers briefly at the beginning of the season.
- He was sent down to the minors, primarily to integrate the American Association, but was called back up for good after hitting 13 home runs in 35 games.
1951 - 1955 - Played for four pennant winners in Brooklyn and was named the NL's most valuable player.
1951 - He hit .325 with 33 homers and 108 RBI.
1953 - He set a record for catchers with 41 home runs, led the league with 142 RBI, and batted .312.
1955 - The Dodgers won their first world championship; he batted .318 with 32 home runs and 107 RBI.
1958 - He was driving from his Harlem liquor store to his home on Long Island when his car skidded on a patch of ice and hit a telephone pole. He suffered two broken vertebrae in his neck and was paralyzed from the chest down.
1959 - The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles that year. He was honored on the 7th of May, before an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the Yankees. A record crowd of 93,103 fans turned out to pay tribute to him.
1974 - Served as a spring training coach for the Dodgers for many years. His autobiography, It's Good to Be Alive, was adapted as a 1974 made-for-television movie.
1993 - Died on the 26th of June in Woodland Hills, California due to Heart Failure and was buried in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California.
| | Page last updated: 6:49pm, 19th May '07 |
Related Books
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Campy: The Story of Roy Campanella by David A. Adler (Hardcover - Mar 15, 2007) Roy Campanella loved baseball. A professional player from the age of fifteen, he later became the first African-American catcher to integrate Major League Baseball. Fans and players adored Campy for...  Usually ships in 24 hours |
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It's Good to Be Alive by Roy Campanella (Paperback - Mar 1, 1995) If Jackie Robinson was the heart of the Dodger teams of the late 1940s and early 1950s, Roy Campanella, the Brooklyn backstop, was its backbone. A powerful man with a powerful will, he won a trio of...  Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Roy Campanella: Baseball Star (Great Achievers : Lives of the Physically Challenged) by Norman L. Macht (Library Binding - Nov 16, 1995) |
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Roy Campanella (Baseball Legends) by James Tackach (Library Binding - Nov 16, 1995) |
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Roy Campanella (School&Library Binding - Apr 16, 1994) |
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It's good to be alive. by Roy Campanella (Hardcover - May 16, 2008) |
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