Sammy Drake 1934-2010

[Met Hunter]

I'm having difficulty confirming, but someone posted on a collector's site that 1962 Met Sammy Drake passed away about 2 weeks ago from stomach cancer.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Guest

[seawolf17]

His brother Solly is a pastor in LA: http://www.thegreaterebenezer.com/

From what I've heard, Sammy occasionally teaches/preaches there as well. (Or perhaps taught/praught there, if what you're saying is true.) That site doesn't say anything about it.

[ashie62]

Got to love the Drake

[ashie62]

Sammy Drake RIP 1/27/2010 in California

[Met Hunter]

From Baseball Happenings:

Friday, February 19, 2010
Sammy Drake member of the original 1962 Mets dies at age 75
Former member of the 1962 "original" Mets, infielder Sammy Drake, passed away on January 27, 2010 in California. Drake played three seasons in the majors from 1960-62 with the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets. Drake along with his brother Solly were the first African-American brothers to play in the major leagues.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Had three chances and never posted a .200 batting average. Still hit a grand slam as a trailblazer, though. First black MLB brothers since Fleet and Welday Walker is a pretty cool claim to fame.

Also cool is that the first position listed for him at UMDB is pinch-runner: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/drakesa01.shtml?redir

[MFS62]

IIRC, Casey Stengel used to call Sammy "Solly".

RIP Sammy.
I'm sorry that's all I recall about you.

Later

[G-Fafif]

Sammy Drake's brother played in the major leagues. Jim Bibby's brother played in the NBA. Not a good couple of weeks to be a Met brother.

Saw a picture of Sammy Drake's 1962 card in The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book in 1975 and was fascinated that somebody whose name had never come up in any book I'd read or any broadcast I'd heard was a Met. Made the Mets seem that much bigger an enterprise in my 12-year-old eyes.

Obit here reveals experience not too many Mets could have had. Besides Willie Mays, were there other Mets who played in the Negro Leagues?

Former Negro Leaguer and major league utility infielder Sammy Drake died at the age of 75 on January 27, 2010 in California. Drake and his brother Solly were the first African-American brothers to play in the majors. He broke in with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1953 and was signed by the Chicago Cubs at the end of the 1954 season. In 1955 along with teammate Ernest Johnson, they became the first African-American players on the Macon (GA) team of the Sally league. Drake finally made it to the majors in 1960 with the Cubs to reunite with a former Negro League teammate, Ernie Banks. He had two cups of coffee in the "Windy City" in 1960 and 1961 before being given his break with the Mets during their inaugural 1962 season. Drake struggled in his only extended stay in the majors, batting .192 in 25 games for the "Amazins". He played two more seasons in triple-A before an injury forced his retirement in 1964. After baseball, he served as a Sunday School teacher in his older brother Solly Drake�s Greater Ebenzer Missionary Baptist Church. In a 2008 interview, Drake said his best asset was his speed. "God had blessed me with so much speed,� Drake said, proudly. �I ran the 100-yard dash in 9.7 seconds. It�s on my baseball card.�

[seawolf17]

Were there other Mets who played in the Negro Leagues?[/quote:38f21se1]
Besides Julio Franco?

[Met Hunter]

Were there other Mets who played in the Negro Leagues?[/quote:2ftgndl4]
Besides Julio Franco?[/quote:2ftgndl4]

Willie Mays
Choo Choo Coleman
George Altman
Charlie Neal

[G-Fafif]

Were there other Mets who played in the Negro Leagues?[/quote:16zlq2z6]
Besides Julio Franco?[/quote:16zlq2z6]

Willie Mays
Choo Choo Coleman
George Altman
Charlie Neal[/quote:16zlq2z6]

With Sammy Drake, that makes five men (not counting Julio) who would play for a team that came into existence in 1962 while carrying a backstory that included explicitly racially segregated baseball. Reading the news Willie Mays bio, with its chapters on Willie's Alabama youth and Negro League experience (to say nothing of continued exposure to discrimination), has reminded me how absolutely screwed up this generally wonderful country of ours has been on certain mores for large chunks of its history. For those of us who were kids in the early '70s, we were still watching players (Mays, Aaron, Banks) who, when they were the age we were then, could not have realistically dreamed of making the majors, no matter their talent.

This is not a bulletin by any means, but geez.

[G-Fafif]

Reflections on Sammy Drake and Mets with Negro League experience here.