Primary Position: Catcher
Birthplace: High Point
First, Last Names: William Clifton
Date of Birth: April 10, 1907 Date and Place of Death: April 21, 1979, Lexington
Burial: Holly Hill Memorial Park Cemetery, Thomasville, NC
High School: Undetermined
College: Did Not Attend
Bats: L Throws: R Height and Weight: 5-9, 160
Debut Year: 1931 Final Year: 1941 Years Played: 7
Teams and Years: Washington Senators, 1931, 1933-36; Detroit Tigers, 1937; Senators, 1941
Career Summary
G AB H R RBI HR BA. OBP. SLG. WAR
335 962 280 113 143 6 .291 .366 .398 +4.5
Awards/Honors: Boys of Summer Top 100
Carl Hubbell had been masterful as he took the mound for the 11th inning of the pivotal fourth game of the 1933 World Series. He had limited the Washington Senators to an unearned run and just six hits. His New York Giants had scored in the top of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Three more outs and they would have a commanding 3-1 advantage in the series, making the final outcome all but certain.
But baseball is rarely so well scripted. The Senators’ first batter, Fred Shulte, singled to left. Joe Kuhel then caught the Giants’ infield napping with a near perfect bunt down the first base line that eluded everyone. After a sacrifice moved the runners to second and third, Hubbell intentionally walked Luke Sewell, who already had two hits in the game. The pitcher Jack Russell was up next, but no one expected him to hit.
Instead, out of the Senators’ dugout stepped an unfamiliar figure. A kid. A rookie.