The 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 170 lb (77 kg) Boyd threw and batted left-handed, and he could shine with his glove. He was a contact hitter, slight of frame, and did not produce the kind of home run power expected from a major league first baseman. He started his professional career in the Negro leagues with the Memphis Red Sox, and played three seasons for them between 1947 and 1949, batting .352, .369 and .371, respectively.
In 1950, Boyd became the first black player to sign with the Chicago White Sox. He made his debut on September 8, 1951. Basically a backup player and pinch-hitter with the Sox, in 1954 he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals, but did not play for them, spending 1954 and 1955 with Houston in the Double-ATexas League and hitting .321 and .310. At the end of the 1955 season, he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles from St. Louis in the Rule 5 draft. In 1956 with the Orioles, he hit .311 with two homers and 11 RBI in 70 games.
Boyd enjoyed a career season in 1957. Only eight batters reached the .300 mark in the American League, and he finished fourth in the batting race with a .318 average behind Ted Williams (.388), Mickey Mantle (.365) and Gene Woodling (.321), and over Nellie Fox, Minnie Miñoso, Bill Skowron and Roy Sievers. Beside this, Boyd became the first Oriole regular in the 20th century to hit over .300 in batting average. The following year, he batted .309 with a career-high seven home runs.
Boyd ended his majors career in 1961. He compiled a .293 batting average with 19 home runs and 175 RBI in 693 games. Thanks to his discipline at the plate and knowledge of the strike zone, he registered an outstanding 1.465 walk-to-strikeout ratio (167-to-114). At first base, he committed only 36 errors in 4159 chances for a .991 fielding average.
Bob Boyd died at age 84 in Wichita, Kansas.[3] He is a member both of the Negro League Hall of Fame and of the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame. His nephew Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd[4] pitched for three MLB teams, most notably the Boston Red Sox, between 1982 and 1991.
boyd, baseball, robert, richard, boyd, october, 1919, september, 2004, american, first, baseman, negro, leagues, major, league, baseball, boydtopps, baseball, card, 1954, series, 113first, basemanborn, 1919, october, 1919potts, camp, mississippi, died, septemb. Robert Richard Boyd October 1 1919 September 7 2004 was an American first baseman in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball 1 Bob BoydTopps baseball card 1954 Series 113First basemanBorn 1919 10 01 October 1 1919Potts Camp Mississippi U S Died September 7 2004 2004 09 07 aged 84 Wichita Kansas U S Batted LeftThrew LeftProfessional debutNgL 1946 for the Memphis Red SoxMLB September 8 1951 for the Chicago White SoxLast MLB appearanceSeptember 24 1961 for the Milwaukee BravesMLB statisticsBatting average 293Home runs19Runs batted in175TeamsMemphis Red Sox 1946 1950 Chicago White Sox 1951 1953 1954 Baltimore Orioles 1956 1960 Kansas City Athletics 1961 Milwaukee Braves 1961 Career highlights and awards3x NgL All Star 1947 1949 First black player to sign with the White Sox Turned the first opening day triple play in major league history Contents 1 Career 2 See also 3 Sources 4 References 5 External linksCareer editNicknamed Rope for his line drive hitting Boyd served in the US Army during World War II 2 and played in the Negro leagues with the Memphis Red Sox 1947 49 and in the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox 1951 1953 54 Baltimore Orioles 1956 60 Kansas City Athletics 1961 and Milwaukee Braves 1961 The 5 ft 10 in 1 78 m 170 lb 77 kg Boyd threw and batted left handed and he could shine with his glove He was a contact hitter slight of frame and did not produce the kind of home run power expected from a major league first baseman He started his professional career in the Negro leagues with the Memphis Red Sox and played three seasons for them between 1947 and 1949 batting 352 369 and 371 respectively In 1950 Boyd became the first black player to sign with the Chicago White Sox He made his debut on September 8 1951 Basically a backup player and pinch hitter with the Sox in 1954 he was sent to the St Louis Cardinals but did not play for them spending 1954 and 1955 with Houston in the Double A Texas League and hitting 321 and 310 At the end of the 1955 season he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles from St Louis in the Rule 5 draft In 1956 with the Orioles he hit 311 with two homers and 11 RBI in 70 games Boyd enjoyed a career season in 1957 Only eight batters reached the 300 mark in the American League and he finished fourth in the batting race with a 318 average behind Ted Williams 388 Mickey Mantle 365 and Gene Woodling 321 and over Nellie Fox Minnie Minoso Bill Skowron and Roy Sievers Beside this Boyd became the first Oriole regular in the 20th century to hit over 300 in batting average The following year he batted 309 with a career high seven home runs Boyd ended his majors career in 1961 He compiled a 293 batting average with 19 home runs and 175 RBI in 693 games Thanks to his discipline at the plate and knowledge of the strike zone he registered an outstanding 1 465 walk to strikeout ratio 167 to 114 At first base he committed only 36 errors in 4159 chances for a 991 fielding average Bob Boyd died at age 84 in Wichita Kansas 3 He is a member both of the Negro League Hall of Fame and of the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame His nephew Dennis Oil Can Boyd 4 pitched for three MLB teams most notably the Boston Red Sox between 1982 and 1991 See also editList of Negro league baseball players List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League BaseballSources editInterview with Bob Boyd Negro League Baseball Players Association National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame Retrosheet Official Web PageReferences edit Rives Bob Bob Boyd Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved 2019 02 02 Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII baseballinwartime com Retrieved October 7 2020 The Rope delighted in fooling pitchers Nowlin Bill Oil Can Boyd Society for American Baseball Research Biography ProjectExternal links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference and Seamheads Bob Boyd at Find a Grave nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bob Boyd baseball amp oldid 1186051090, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
