John Beckwith (baseball player)
Encyclopedia
John Beckwith was an American
infielder
in baseball
's Negro Leagues
.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky
, he ranked among the Negro Leagues' career leaders in batting average
, home run
s, RBI
and slugging percentage (.587).
A terrific hitter, the right-handed Beckwith was a great player and battled fellow Negro League third baseman Jud Wilson for supremacy at that position during the 1920s. Quite possibly, he may have also been better all-around than even Hall of Famer Pie Traynor
during this same period, though it's hard to say definitively.
For the years he didn't play third, he was also an All-Star shortstop, though much of his value and playing time occurred at the "hot corner."
Defensively, it appears that he was steady with the glove based on anecdotal evidence, though not outstanding.
Beckwith died in New York City
, three days before his 56th birthday.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
's Negro Leagues
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, he ranked among the Negro Leagues' career leaders in batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
and slugging percentage (.587).
A terrific hitter, the right-handed Beckwith was a great player and battled fellow Negro League third baseman Jud Wilson for supremacy at that position during the 1920s. Quite possibly, he may have also been better all-around than even Hall of Famer Pie Traynor
Pie Traynor
Harold Joseph "Pie" Traynor was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and radio broadcaster. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He batted and threw right-handed...
during this same period, though it's hard to say definitively.
For the years he didn't play third, he was also an All-Star shortstop, though much of his value and playing time occurred at the "hot corner."
Defensively, it appears that he was steady with the glove based on anecdotal evidence, though not outstanding.
Beckwith died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, three days before his 56th birthday.