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.
| 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 | |
|
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 edit
- ^ 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 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- ^ "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
External links edit
- 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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