centerfield maz

Herman Thomas Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 21, 1939. He was a star basketball player & long jumper at Brooklyn’s Boys High School.  He almost signed with the AL New York team but got a phone call from Jackie Robinson who convinced him to sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers. By the time Davis was brought up to the major’s the Dodgers had moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.  The six foot two, right hand hitting Davis hit over .300 every year in the minors including a .346 mark at AAA Spokane in 1959 earning him a call up to the majors for one game that season. Dodgers Career: In 1960 Davis took over the Dodger center field spot from Dom Demeter who had taken over for Duke Snider who moved over to right field at the end of his career.  Davis hit .276 with 11 HRs 18 doubles six stolen bases & 44 RBIs coming in fifth, in the Rookie of the Year voting. Davis got better & no one imagined the year he would have in 1962. NL Batting Champ: That se...

George Lee Altman was born on March 20, 1933, in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The big six foot four, two-hundred-pound Altman was known as “Big George”.  George briefly  played  in the Negro Leagues for the months in 1955 with the Kansas City Monarchs. It was there he impressed the legendary Buck O'Neil who recommended Altman to the Chicago Cubs. He  then attended Tennessee State University where he played baseball as well as basketball.  In 1956 he was signed by the Cubs on Buck O'Neil's  recommendation.   Trivia: Altman & Fred Valentine were the first players to come out of Tennesse State & make the big Leagues. After his first season in pro ball,  Altman served two years doing Military Service for 1957 & 1958.  He returned to hit 15 HRs & bat .325 in his second year in the minors getting promoted to the Cubs the next year. Altman was put right into the Cubs outfield as a rookie batting .245 with 12 HRs ...

Don Richard Ashburn was born on March 19, 1927, on a farm in Tilden, Nebraska. He was one of two identical twins (Don & Donna) born to Genevieve & Neil Ashburn. The family used his middle name to not confuse him with his sister Donna. His father was a monument maker & a blacksmith. Little Richie was a childhood friend of future late night talk show star, Johnny Carson.  Richie became a star baseball player in high school & represented Nebraska playing for the American Legion team at a game in New York City where he was discovered by the scouts. The five foot ten, left hand hitting outfielder with the white hair, earned himself the nick name "Whitey". Ashburn was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944 and hit .312 at Utica playing A ball. He went to the US Army serving in World War II in 1945-1946. He returned to baseball the next year & hit .362 in in the minor leagues at AA ball. MLB Career: Ashburn came up to the Phillies in 1948 and wou...

Roderick Edwin Kanehl was born on April Fool’s Day 1934 in Wichita, Kansas. The six foot one, right hand hitter was signed after high school by the A.L. New York club as an amateur free agent in 1954. In his first year of pro ball, he hit .316 but toiled at the lowest levels of the minors for four seasons. In 1958 he went to AA Dallas batting .295 getting him promoted to AAA the next season. Kanehl spent the next two years in the minors with  the Kansas City A’s, Cincinnati Reds  & Minnesota Twins organizations. In 1961 Kanehl hit  .304 at AAA Nashville but didn’t’ have a contract when the season ended.  Mets Career: The expansion New York Mets gave him a shot to try out at Spring Training, probably due to Casey Stengel remembering him from the minor leagues. After eight years in the minors, Kanehl played his heart out in the Mets first Spring Training to earn a spot on the 1962 expansion team's roster.  Legend has it, Kanehl once ju...