Hugh Alexander | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: July 10, 1917 Buffalo, Missouri, U.S. | |
Died: November 25, 2000 Bethany, Oklahoma, U.S. | (aged 83)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 15, 1937, for the Cleveland Indians | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 22, 1937, for the Cleveland Indians | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .091 |
Hits | 1 |
Teams | |
|
Hugh Alexander (July 10, 1917 – November 25, 2000) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He was an outfielder during his brief playing career, but after he suffered a career-ending injury at the age of 20 he became one of baseball's most celebrated scouts. [1]
Born in Buffalo, Missouri, Alexander moved to Oklahoma with his family at the age of five. [2] [3] Alexander the player stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), and batted and threw right-handed. He spent 1936 and 1937 in the lower levels of the Cleveland Indians' farm system, and batted .348 and .344 in successive seasons. [4] Called to the Majors, he appeared in seven games for the 1937 Indians in August, getting one hit in eleven at bats (.091) and striking out five times. [2] [3] He returned to the Indians for a single game in September as a pinch runner. [3] That offseason, while working his family's oil fields in Oklahoma, he lost his left hand in a drilling accident, ending his playing career. [2] [3] Alexander then began a very short career as a bartender. [3]
In the aftermath of the accident, Alexander was immediately named a scout for the Indians; at 20, he was unusually young for the assignment and scouting jobs were at a premium during the height of The Great Depression. [1] But the first two players he signed for Cleveland became big-league All-Stars — pitcher Allie Reynolds and outfielder Dale Mitchell. [1] Sportswriter Allen Barra praised him as a "superb judge of talent." [5] During a 64-year scouting career, working for the Indians, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, Alexander earned the nickname "Uncle Hughie" [6] and would sign other stars, including Steve Garvey, Frank Howard, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Don Sutton for the Dodgers alone. [2]
In 1984 Alexander co-founded the "Scout of the Year Program", which recognised the best scouts in the country each year. Alexander was awarded "Scout of the Year" in 1996. [7] He retired in 1998, and died on November 25, 2000. [3]
Hugh Alexander | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: July 10, 1917 Buffalo, Missouri, U.S. | |
Died: November 25, 2000 Bethany, Oklahoma, U.S. | (aged 83)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 15, 1937, for the Cleveland Indians | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 22, 1937, for the Cleveland Indians | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .091 |
Hits | 1 |
Teams | |
|
Hugh Alexander (July 10, 1917 – November 25, 2000) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He was an outfielder during his brief playing career, but after he suffered a career-ending injury at the age of 20 he became one of baseball's most celebrated scouts. [1]
Born in Buffalo, Missouri, Alexander moved to Oklahoma with his family at the age of five. [2] [3] Alexander the player stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), and batted and threw right-handed. He spent 1936 and 1937 in the lower levels of the Cleveland Indians' farm system, and batted .348 and .344 in successive seasons. [4] Called to the Majors, he appeared in seven games for the 1937 Indians in August, getting one hit in eleven at bats (.091) and striking out five times. [2] [3] He returned to the Indians for a single game in September as a pinch runner. [3] That offseason, while working his family's oil fields in Oklahoma, he lost his left hand in a drilling accident, ending his playing career. [2] [3] Alexander then began a very short career as a bartender. [3]
In the aftermath of the accident, Alexander was immediately named a scout for the Indians; at 20, he was unusually young for the assignment and scouting jobs were at a premium during the height of The Great Depression. [1] But the first two players he signed for Cleveland became big-league All-Stars — pitcher Allie Reynolds and outfielder Dale Mitchell. [1] Sportswriter Allen Barra praised him as a "superb judge of talent." [5] During a 64-year scouting career, working for the Indians, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, Alexander earned the nickname "Uncle Hughie" [6] and would sign other stars, including Steve Garvey, Frank Howard, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Don Sutton for the Dodgers alone. [2]
In 1984 Alexander co-founded the "Scout of the Year Program", which recognised the best scouts in the country each year. Alexander was awarded "Scout of the Year" in 1996. [7] He retired in 1998, and died on November 25, 2000. [3]