Showing posts with label Clyde Parris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clyde Parris. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Clyde Parris, Negro Leaguer and Panamian baseball great passes away at 93

Jonathan “Clyde” Parris, an alum of the Negro Leagues and later a minor league MVP and batting champion in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, passed away Saturday July 9, 2016 due to complications from liver cancer at Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream, NY. He was 93.

Clyde Parris at his home in 2011 / N. Diunte

Born September 11, 1922 in Panama’s Canal Zone, Parris quickly emerged as a rising star in the country’s rich baseball scene. Following the footsteps of his predecessors Frankie Austin and Pat Scantlebury, Parris came to the United States in 1946 to play for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues after being recruited by a local talent scout.

“As a kid I played softball, and then I played in the community leagues,” Parris recalled during our 2007 interview. “I played infield; shortstop and third base. I could always hit the ball hard. That's how I came to be recommended to play in the United States. … I can't remember the man who brought me to the Negro Leagues. I played in Panama and he saw me play so well, he recommended me to play with Baltimore.”

His stay with Baltimore was brief, as he was released from the team early in the season to make room for future Hall of Famer Willie Wells. He was quickly signed by the New York Black Yankees, giving him another chance to prove himself in the Negro Leagues.

“We played in Yankee Stadium while the New York Yankees were away,” Parris said. "I remember approaching the stadium, guys said, ’Parris, this is Yankee Stadium!’ I went inside to the lobby to see the pictures of the stars. It was something unreal. The field was just so nice to play on, thinking about all of the greats that played there.”

Despite being on a last place club, Parris still had to compete against all of the league's great talent in 1946, including Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Leon Day, and Buck Leonard.

“I had to face guys like Satchel Paige, Leon Day, and Bill Byrd,” he recalled. “Byrd only pitched at home. I batted against Day the first and second year and he was hard to hit. It wasn't anything outstanding like [Bob] Gibson or [Don] Drysdale. I played with Drysdale too. I think his [Day] better years were behind him like [Josh] Gibson.”

At the time of our 2007 interview, Parris was one of the few living players to have went up against Gibson, facing him during the famed catcher’s final season in 1946. Even though Gibson was in declining health, Parris remembered Gibson as a threat at the plate.

“I played against Josh Gibson,” he said. “When I played against him, he couldn't even stoop down; he stooped down about halfway. Yet every time we played against him, he hit a home run or two. I remember I was playing back at third base and he hit a dribbler like a bunt, and I'll never forget that. I thought I had to play back! They also had Buck Leonard too. They were on the same team, Homestead Grays. We were the doormat of the league. What were you gonna do? We had no pitching.”

Parris also squared off against Satchel Paige at Yankee Stadium. He clouted a home run off of the famed hurler, though not without controversy.

“We were facing Satchel Paige in Yankee Stadium,” Parris recalled. “They had him pitch there because he brought in huge crowds. It was near the end of the game when I hit one to right field. The right fielder in Yankee Stadium went to field the ball near the fence and it hit off of him to go over the fence. They started arguing about it. The umpire said it didn’t make a difference; it was a home run.”

After getting through his first year in the Negro Leagues, Parris didn’t want to come back. The low pay, the unforgiving schedule and segregated conditions wore greatly on the Panamanian; however without the prospect of a job, he returned to the Black Yankees in 1947.

“After my first year in the black leagues, I didn't want to go back, but I didn't have a job,” he said. “We went barnstorming to make some money, but we didn't make anything substantial. I made $275 per month.”

Just as Parris was getting ready to return to the United States in 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were stationed in Panama for spring training, faced a team of Panamanian All-Stars before they headed north. History unfolded right before Parris’ eyes.

“The first time Jackie took that first baseman's glove was against our team in Panama,” he said. “They had Newcombe, Campanella, Robinson, and Partlow.”

Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, Roy Partlow in Panama 1947 / Clyde Parris Collection
He stayed in the Negro Leagues through 1949, playing with the Black Yankees and Louisville Buckeyes. He returned home to Panama, starring in their winter league, where he would eventually set most of their career batting records.

Parris made his way to the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1952, signing with by Dodgers scout Joe Cicero after playing for St. Jean of the Canadian Provincial League. By 1954, he earned Class-A league MVP honors with Elmira, besting future New York Yankees World Series MVP Bobby Richardson for the title.
Clyde Parris with Elmira / N. Diunte

The Dodgers promoted Parris to AAA Montreal in 1955, pushing him ever so close to the major leagues. Making good on his promotion, he led the International League with a .321 batting average in 1956. Despite his outstanding performance, the Dodgers didn’t bring him up to get even a taste of major league life.

“I went to AAA after leading Class-A in hitting,” he said. “In 1956, I led AAA in hitting. A lot of people thought I was going to be called up. Deep down inside, I didn't expect to go to the big leagues, I guess because of my age. I was 34, kind of old, right?”

Clyde Parris with the Montreal Royals
For those that played with Parris, they knew that he deserved at a shot in the major leagues. Former teammate Evans Killeen, who played with the Kansas City Athletics, told Lou Hernandez in “Memories of Winter Ball,” Parris was first when he thought of outstanding teammates.

“To me, he was one of the great hitters I have ever seen in my life,” Killeen said. “He would have been a great major leaguer. But he never got the chance. … All Parris hit was line drives, and he was a tough out. … What a hitter. … Could you imagine him today? This guy was some hitter.”

Parris continued playing almost year ‘round in the minors and in the Panamanian Winter League through the age of 37 in 1960. For whatever rigors on the body the extended seasons had on Parris, he said it beat getting a job.

“As far as I thought, it was better than going to work,” he said. “A whole lot of time, I didn't have a house of my own. I stayed with my folks, so I didn't have to pay rent or a mortgage. I just kept playing. A whole lot of times, you only play six-to-seven months out of the year, five-to-six up in the USA, and two months winter ball. I didn't work.”
A custom made card that Parris enjoyed / N. Diunte

During his post-playing days, he moved to Springfield Gardens in Queens. He purchased a home in the 1960s, where along with his wife Eugenia, they raised his three children (two sons and a daughter). He worked various government jobs, eventually retiring from the MTA in 1988.

His playing career went largely unnoticed in retirement, missing the entire Negro League renaissance of the early 1990s. It wasn’t until 2007 when I was put in touch with Parris that he spoke on the record for the first time since his 1960 retirement about his life in baseball.

“I haven’t been asked about my career since I was a player,” he told me during our meeting in 2007.

Clyde Parris (r.) with me during our first meeting in 2007 / N. Diunte
What forged from that interview was a friendship lasting these past nine years, where I would drive out to his home every few months to have lunch and talk baseball. Through our conversations, I was able to get in touch with the Topps Company, who promptly honored him with an official card in their 2009 Allen and Ginter Baseball Card set.

“I felt honored for Topps to give me a baseball card. I thought they could have used a better photo, but it is nice to see one after all of these years,” Parris said. “I had a good run in baseball, I can’t complain.”

Clyde Parris 2009 Topps Baseball Card / Topps

The more we met to talk, the increasingly energized he became about sharing the stories of his playing days. For almost every significant player of the 1940s and 1950s, Parris had an exciting story of either playing with or against them. From some of the aforementioned icons of the Negro Leagues, to minor league Dodgers teammates such as Don Drysdale, Sparky Anderson, and Tommy Lasorda, Parris spun vivid yarns about many in the game.

I will remember the many afternoons spent at his kitchen table listening to him openly share his experiences with his trademark laugh after recalling a lighter baseball moment. I feel fortunate to have shared that special time with him. Checking through some old messages on my phone, I found one saved from Clyde. He kept it short and sweet as usual, saying, “Hey, this is Parris, give me a call back.”

On Saturday, Clyde finally got the call back to the big show in the sky. I’m sure he went there major leagues all the way. Rest in peace my friend, you will be missed.

Ed. Note - Parts of this article are excerpted from a Times-Ledger story I wrote about Parris in 2011, "Batting average? You are thinking about surviving."

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Billy Harris, former Brooklyn Dodger passes away at 80

Billy Harris, former pitcher for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers and member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, passed away Friday night at the age of 80 at his home in Kennewick, Wash.

Billy Harris, 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers
Harris was hospitalized about a month ago for bleeding ulcers after he fainted in his restaurant, Billy’s Bullpen. Discharged from the hospital two weeks ago, Harris never fully recovered from his ailments.

Just a few short months ago in February, I interviewed Harris for a story I authored about his teammate, Clyde Parris. Harris was cheerful and spoke glowingly not only about his Montreal teammate, but his entire career in baseball. Harris drank from the smallest cups of coffee, pitching two games for the Dodgers, one in 1957 and the other in 1959, but for Harris, what a sweet cup it was!

“It was a great feeling to go up there," Harris said during our phone interview in February 2011. "Every time they called me up, I knew the guys from spring training so it was just like meeting old buddies again.”

Harris gained accolades for being one of the early Canadians in the majors. Hailing from Duguayville, N.B., Harris epitomized the pinnacle of achievement for a baseball player from such a small area.

“Billy defined Canadiana. Small town boy makes good,” said Tom Valcke, president & CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in an interview with Kevin Glew of the Canadian Baseball Network.

Harris signed with the Dodgers at the age of 19 in 1951 when he was offered a contract by Bill O’Connor while he was playing hockey. He found immediate success with Class-D Valdosta, posting an 18-9 record with a 2.19 ERA.

He quickly climbed the ladder, skipping two levels to Class-B Miami the following year. During his magical 1952 season, Harris went 25-6 with a minuscule 0.83 ERA, a record for the lowest season ERA for a pitcher in organized ball. 

When asked about his breakout season, Harris remained humble about his achievement.

“I think the record still stands for ERA, 0.83," he said. "I won 25 games and three more in the playoffs which doesn’t count in the standings. I had good defense, but I had good stuff. My fastball was really moving.

“I don’t know it just one of those deals. It was kind of a pitcher’s league but we had a good team behind me. I had Chico Fernandez at short, Dick Gray at third and [Jimmy] Bragan at second base. We had a good outfield that could go get ‘em, so that helped the team. All I had to do was throw the ball over the plate.”

Harris ascended the ranks the following season, playing in AA Fort Worth and Mobile. He spent the next three seasons shuttling between AA and AAA, making brief stops with Montreal in 1954 and 1955 before settling in for good with the Canadian club in 1956.

His previous stops in Montreal while brief, proved to be rather memorable. In 1954, Harris only pitched three games for Montreal, but it gave him enough time to join baseball’s golden child’s Roberto Clemente on the bench for his only season in the Dodger organization. Clemente was being “hidden” by the Dodgers brass that season, being used sparingly with the hopes that another team would not claim him while he waited in AAA.

During one of their conversations on the bench, Clemente revealed to Harris where his next destination would be.

“I remember, we always sat and talked on the bench," he said. "They didn’t play him too much as they tried to hide him as he was up for grabs because he was sent down and made more than a $10,000 bonus. He was sitting there telling me, ‘Billy, next year I go to Pittsburgh.’ I said ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Look up in the stands.’ It was Clyde Sukeforth up there.”

Harris marveled at the talent that was around him in Montreal. Looking back they had enough talent to make a major league team on their own.

“I think we had a team in Montreal that would beat most of the major league teams," he said. "Sparky Anderson was my second baseman. We also had Rocky Nelson, John Roseboro, Clyde Parris, George Shuba, Dick Williams and Chico Fernandez. Those were some great names.”

During the winters in between his forays with the Dodgers minor league clubs, Harris went to the Caribbean to bolster his income and polish his pitching skills. He played six years in winter ball in both Panama and Venezuela.

“The pay was good," he recalled. "You didn’t want to take a real job. I played two years in Panama and four in Venezuela. For two of those years, I played in the Caribbean Series and then I went right to spring training.”

Finally in 1957, after eight years in the minors, Brooklyn reached down and called for Harris to join the major league club. With the reserve clause, all he could do at the time was wait for the call to the show.

“You belonged to the team," he said. "There was no free agency and no union to protect you. I was called up to the Dodgers and they kept me back because Buffalo was fighting for the pennant. The league owner told me I had to stay to pitch against them. I beat Buffalo, I think it cost them the pennant and the next day I went with the Dodgers.

“I pitched the next to the last game of the season in 1957 against the Phillies in Philadelphia. The last game Roy Campanella caught; I pitched that game. I got to know him quite a lot in spring training. I used to hit grounders to the infielders and he would back me up and we had a ball. He was funnier than hell. He was a great guy. He had a nickname for me; he’d call me 'muscles.' I was built kind of strong in those days. Just think next year he would have played in the Coliseum and he would have popped a whole bunch off the porch there.”

Harris was called up again at the end of the 1959 season to relieve the Dodgers pitching staff as they made a run at the World Series. He hurt his arm the following season and wound up playing for Tri-City a few years later, luring him to his Kennewick residence.

“They had a team in Tri-City where I live now," he said. "I didn’t even know where this place was. They needed a coach, so I pitched and coached. My wife was from Montreal and I was from New Brunswick and we decided to live there. We bought a home and I decided to get into this business,” said Harris.

The business he referred to is his sports bar, Billy’s Bullpen in Kennewick.

“I’ve owned this for 25 years. It’s a sports bar, we have a lot of fun here.”

Harris is survived by his wife, Alice, daughter Gail and sons, Billy Jr. and Rick, as well as seven grand children.


Sunday, February 20, 2011

Clyde Parris - Private Autograph Signing March 5, 2011

BaseballHappenings.net is proud to present a private signing with former Negro Leaguer Clyde Parris. He is the last living alum of the legendary Baltimore Elite Giants, having played with them in 1946. All items are due by March 5, 2011.

Affectionately known as "The Dude", the Panamania-born Parris entered pro ball in the United States with the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues in 1946. Later that season he signed with the New York Black Yankees and played with them until 1948. He spent part of the 1949 season with the Cleveland / Louisville Buckeyes. He is currently one of less than 20 living Negro Leaguers to have entered the Negro Leagues before Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

He would eventually be signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system, reaching the Triple-A level for six seasons, earning MVP honors at Class-A Elmira and winning the Triple-A batting title in 1956.

Click here to read a recent article about Parris' career, "Batting Average? You were thinking about surviving!"

Parris has never done a public or private signing. He appears in the 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter set.

The prices for the signing are as follows:
Cards / Photos / Flats / Index Cards - $10
Your Baseball - $12
Our 8x10 Photos - $15 (includes autograph)
Inscriptions - $5

Shipping costs are as follows:
You can send a SASE with your items, however, you assume all risk for the SASE.

$2 Baseball Cards / Index Cards / Photos Smaller Than 5x7
$4 Photos 5x7 or Larger
$5 Baseballs

If you are located outside of the United States, please email for a shipping quotation.

Payment Forms Accepted:
Paypal / Credit Card
Money Order

Please send your items with a post-it note and member name to ensure the correct return.

For details on paying by either Paypal / Credit Card, please send an email to baseballhappenings@yahoo.com

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Clyde Parris continues to carry the legacy of the Negro Leagues

2009 Allen and Ginter Clyde Parris
Jonathan "Clyde" Parris is one of the last living links to the Negro Leagues. Debuting in 1946 with the Baltimore Elite Giants, he is the last living player from the organization that produced Hall of Famers Roy Campanella and Leon Day, as well as Joe Black and Junior Gilliam. I recently caught up with Parris for a piece with the Queens Times / Ledger newspapers.

Click here to read more about the career of Clyde Parris, and how he was extremely close to being called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers after leading the minor leagues in hitting.