Bill Perkins (baseball)

Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins
	Catcher
	Born: June 26, 1906; Dawson, Georgia
	Died: January 24, 1958 (aged 51); Birmingham, Alabama
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
Negro league baseball debut
	1928, for the Birmingham Black Barons
Last appearance
	1948, for the Baltimore Elite Giants
Teams
	Birmingham Black Barons (1928, 1930, 1945); Brooklyn Royal Giants (1929); Cleveland Cubs (1931); Baltimore Black Sox (1931); Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931–1936); Cleveland Stars (1932); Homestead Grays (1932); Philadelphia Stars (1938–1939, 1946); Baltimore Elite Giants (1940, 1947–1948); New York Black Yankees (1945-1946);

William Gamiel Perkins (June 26, 1906 – January 24, 1958) was an American baseball catcher from who played in the Negro leagues from 1928 to 1948 with several teams.

A native of Albany, Georgia, Perkins is best known for being "Satchel Paige's personal catcher throughout his career" and wearing a chest protector that read, "Thou shalt not steal!"^[1] While playing for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Perkins served as Josh Gibson's backup catcher; but, even as backup catcher, he was the one to whom Paige most often threw his fastballs.^[2] He played in two East-West All-Star Games, in 1934 and 1940.^[3]

Perkins was one of the "jumpers" who jumped to Santo Domingo when tropical countries started summer seasons in competition with American leagues.^[4] He was temporarily suspended from playing in the United States in 1938, but the suspension was short and he then signed with the Philadelphia Stars.^[5] He served in the US Army during World War II,^[6] and was shot in a restaurant in 1948 with very limited details about the event.^[5]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Sturm, James, 1965- (2007). Satchel Paige : striking out Jim Crow. Tommaso, Rich., Early, Gerald Lyn,, Center for Cartoon Studies. (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: Jump at the Sun. ISBN 978-0786839018. OCLC 171152733.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Ribowsky, Mark. (1995). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group. ISBN 1559722835. OCLC 31656278.
^ Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
^ Ribowsky, Mark (1955). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. pp. 208. ISBN 1559722835.
^ ^a ^b "Bill Perkins". Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum. 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
^ "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference and Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats and Seamheads
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine

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[:0-1] Sturm, James, 1965- (2007). Satchel Paige : striking out Jim Crow. Tommaso, Rich., Early, Gerald Lyn,, Center for Cartoon Studies. (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: Jump at the Sun. ISBN 978-0786839018. OCLC 171152733.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[2] Ribowsky, Mark. (1995). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group. ISBN 1559722835. OCLC 31656278.

[Riley-3] Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.

[4] Ribowsky, Mark (1955). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. pp. 208. ISBN 1559722835.

[:1-5] "Bill Perkins". Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum. 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.

[6] "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

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