Bill White (baseball)
Encyclopedia
William De Kova "Bill" White (born January 28, 1934 in Lakewood, Florida
) is a former professional baseball
first baseman
who played for the New York and San Francisco Giants
, St. Louis Cardinals
(-65
) and Philadelphia Phillies
(-68
).
White became a full-time sportscaster
for 18 years after his playing career ended.
White then served as president of the National League
from 1989 to 1994.
team - the Danville Leafs (1953). Percy Miller Jr.
broke the color barrier for that league in 1951.
In his 13-season major league career, Bill White batted
.286 with 202 home run
s and 870 RBI
s in 1673 games. He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straight Gold Glove Awards (1960–66). White batted and threw left-handed.
White is also one of the few MLB players who have hit at least .300 and driven in at least 100 runs in three consecutive seasons.
broadcast crew. He called Yankee games from to , most often with Phil Rizzuto
and Frank Messer
. He did radio
as well as television
during most of that stretch. Bill White was the first African-American to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league sports team. While in Philadelphia, White became the first African-American to broadcast NHL
hockey when he called several Flyers
' games.
On New York City radio, White was featured on WMCA
from 1971
to 1977
, after which the Yankees switched over to WINS
. In 1981
, the Yankee broadcast team moved over to WABC
. On television, White worked with Rizzuto and Messer on WPIX
.
On October 2, , calling the American League East championship playoff game
on WPIX-TV, White authored one of baseball's most famous calls—that of Yankee
shortstop Bucky Dent
's home run
in the seventh inning against the host Boston Red Sox
:
White also did sports reports for the CBS Radio Network
and helped call several World Series
for CBS Radio
(along with Los Angeles Dodgers
announcer Ross Porter and later, Jack Buck
). He also did pre-game reports for the ABC
coverage of the 1977 Series, also along with Porter, and handled the post-game trophy presentation for ABC after the Yanks clinched the world title in the sixth game.
WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in 1976
, 1977
, 1978
, 1980
and 1981
, providing New York viewers a local alternative to the nationally-broadcast telecasts.
. White was the first African-American to hold such a high executive position in sports.
In 2011
, White released his autobiography entitled Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play. Bill White currently resides in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania
.
Lakewood, Florida
Lakewood, Florida is a small unincorporated community in Walton County, North Florida, USA. It is in the Florida panhandle. Lakewood is on the Florida/Alabama border near Florida's highest point, Britton Hill . Lakewood and most of Walton County are different from the rest of Florida in terms of...
) is a former professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
who played for the New York and San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(-65
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
) and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
(-68
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...
).
White became a full-time sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
for 18 years after his playing career ended.
White then served as president of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
from 1989 to 1994.
Playing career
As a minor-leaguer, Bill White was the second black player to ever play for a Carolina LeagueCarolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
team - the Danville Leafs (1953). Percy Miller Jr.
Percy Miller Jr.
Percy Miller, Jr. is a former minor league baseball player who broke the color barrier in the Carolina League. The son of Negro league pitcher Percy Miller, he made his debut for the Danville Leafs in August 1951, and played in 19 games that season. Bill White, who would be the second black player...
broke the color barrier for that league in 1951.
In his 13-season major league career, Bill White batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.286 with 202 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 870 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
s in 1673 games. He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straight Gold Glove Awards (1960–66). White batted and threw left-handed.
White is also one of the few MLB players who have hit at least .300 and driven in at least 100 runs in three consecutive seasons.
Broadcasting career
White earned a sports program on KMOX radio in St. Louis while he was still playing for the Cardinals. After he was traded to the Phillies, he did a program there. Later, White joined the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
broadcast crew. He called Yankee games from to , most often with Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
and Frank Messer
Frank Messer
Wallace Frank Messer was an American sportscaster that was best known for his 18 seasons announcing New York Yankees baseball games, and as the recognizable emcee voice of various Yankee Stadium festivities during a three decade span.-Background:An Asheville, North Carolina native, Messer was a...
. He did radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
as well as television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
during most of that stretch. Bill White was the first African-American to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league sports team. While in Philadelphia, White became the first African-American to broadcast NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
hockey when he called several Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
' games.
On New York City radio, White was featured on WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
from 1971
1971 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 69th season for the franchise in New York, and its 71st season overall. The team finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 82-80, 21 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. New York was managed by Ralph Houk...
to 1977
1977 New York Yankees season
The 1977 New York Yankees season was the 75th season for the Yankees in New York and the 77th season overall for the franchise. It culminated in the 21st World Series championship in franchise history, and its first under the ownership of George Steinbrenner...
, after which the Yankees switched over to WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
. In 1981
1981 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 1981 season was the 79th season for the Yankees. In the ALCS, the Yankees swept the Oakland Athletics for their only pennant of the 1980s. However, they lost in the World Series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York was managed by Gene Michael and Bob Lemon...
, the Yankee broadcast team moved over to WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
. On television, White worked with Rizzuto and Messer on WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
.
On October 2, , calling the American League East championship playoff game
1978 American League East tie-breaker game
The 1978 American League East tie-breaker game was played between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on October 2, 1978....
on WPIX-TV, White authored one of baseball's most famous calls—that of Yankee
1978 New York Yankees season
The 1978 New York Yankees season was the 76th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 100-63, finishing one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox to win their third American League East title. The two teams were tied after 162 games, leading to a one-game playoff, which the Yankees...
shortstop Bucky Dent
Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent , is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in and , and was voted the World Series MVP in 1978...
's home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
in the seventh inning against the host Boston Red Sox
1978 Boston Red Sox season
The 1978 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing second in the American League East with a record of 99 wins and 64 losses.- Offseason :...
:
White also did sports reports for the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
and helped call several World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
for CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports , the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the postseason from 1976 to 1997.-Contracts:CBS first covered...
(along with Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
announcer Ross Porter and later, Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
). He also did pre-game reports for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
coverage of the 1977 Series, also along with Porter, and handled the post-game trophy presentation for ABC after the Yanks clinched the world title in the sixth game.
WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in 1976
1976 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriThe opener was played on a bright Saturday afternoon at Royals Stadium and pitted Yankee ace Jim “Catfish” Hunter against left-hander and ex-Yankee Larry Gura. The Yankees got off to a quick start scoring two in the first...
, 1977
1977 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 5, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe visiting Royals jumped on the sore-shouldered Don Gullett early and never looked back. Hal McRae hit a two-run homer in the first, Freddie Patek had a two-run double in the second, and John Mayberry a two-run blast in the...
, 1978
1978 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 3, 1978 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriPrior to the start of this game, both teams had to deal with bad news. Ron Guidry, he of the incredible 25–3 Cy Young Award-winning season, would be unavailable to start until Game 4, if played, at least...
, 1980
1980 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 8, 1980 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriThe series opener saw the Yankees throw their ace, Ron Guidry, against the Royals' Larry Gura. In the top of the second, the Bronx Bombers jumped out to a 2–0 lead when Rick Cerone and Lou Piniella smacked back-to-back...
and 1981
1981 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 13, 1981 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkIn Billy Martin's return to Yankee Stadium , the Yankees drew first blood in front of their old skipper...
, providing New York viewers a local alternative to the nationally-broadcast telecasts.
President of the National League
From to , White served as president of the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
. White was the first African-American to hold such a high executive position in sports.
In 2011
2011 in literature
The year 2011 will involve some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tomas Tranströmer wins the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.*Jennifer Egan wins the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.-Literature:*T.C...
, White released his autobiography entitled Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play. Bill White currently resides in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania
Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania
The village of Upper Black Eddy aka "UBE" is located in northern Bucks County, Pennsylvania who have second homes here due to the early american 18th and 19th century charm, rural character of the area and short distance from the "City" located only 58 miles to the east.Upper Black Eddy...
.
See also
- Home run in first Major League at-batHome run in first at-batThis is a list of Major League Baseball players who hit a home run in their first major league at bat.Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Daniel Nava are the only players to hit a grand slam in their first at bat...
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- Hitting for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...