Although born in Talladega, Alabama on June 17, 1921, David Pope grew up in the Homestead Grays barnstorming region of Western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Signed by the Grays in 1945, the left handed hitting outfielder shared the dressing room with Negro League immortals Buck Leonard, “Cool Papa” Bell, and Josh Gibson. Pope was used mainly as a utility outfielder and pinch hitter on the Grays in 1948 when the team won the last Negro League World Series.
It
was Pope’s potential as a hitter that caught the eye of Major League
scouts. The Cleveland Indians signed him
in 1950 and he made his Major League debut on July 1, 1952. He hit .294 in 12 games, but he was sent back
to the minors a victim of his own fielding errors and the unwritten quota
system African American players faced in the early years of Major League
baseball integration.
He
returned to the Cleveland after mid-season in 1954 to help the Indians win the
American League pennant. He hit .294 in
60 games with 30 hits, four home runs and had three pinch hitting appearances
in the 1954 World Series which the Indians lost to the New York Giants four
games to none.
1955
would be Pope’s best year in the Major Leagues, but it would not be with
Cleveland. After getting off to a good
start he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
He finished the year hitting .264 in 120 games with seven home runs and
52 RBIs.
He
was traded back to Cleveland the next year.
He played in 37 games and wound up back in their minor league system as
the team promoted younger white prospects such as Roger Maris and Rocky Colavito. Pope never made it back to the Major Leagues.
Along with Dave Pope, who were the four
other members of the 1948 Homestead Grays that went on to play in the Major
Leagues?
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