George Charles Scott Jr. (March 23, 1944 – July 28, 2013), nicknamed "Boomer", was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

from to , most prominently for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

where he was a member of the American League pennant winning team and, with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

where he was the American League

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and RBI champion. A three-time All-Star player, Scott was one of the most accomplished defensive first basemen of his era, winning eight

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

s between 1967 and 1976. During his major league career, he also played for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. After his Major League career, Scott became a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

and went on to become full-time manager in the

Independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League (baseball, 19 ...

from the 1980s until 2002. He was inducted into the

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of selected former Boston Red Sox players, coaches and managers, and non-uniformed personnel. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, p ...

in 2006 and the

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The hall of fame was established in 1961 and is currently located in a museum that displays the achievements of Mississippi athletes. The museum opened on July 4, 19 ...

the following year. In 2014, he was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor.

Early years

Scott was born March 23, 1944, in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. H ...

, as the youngest of three children. His father, a cotton farm laborer, died when George Jr. was two years old, and young George was picking cotton by age nine. "That's all we knew", he said. "The reason you did that, all of that money was turned over to your parents to make ends meet. Nothing can be worse than getting up at four in the morning waiting for a truck to pick you up to go pick and chop cotton from six or seven in the morning until five or six in the afternoon." Scott played

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization At Coleman High School in Greenville he excelled in baseball, football and basketball, quarterbacking the football team and leading his football and basketball teams to state championships. Scott chose baseball as a career "to make my living. I got tired of watching my mom struggle ith three jobs I didn't have the mind that I could go to college and see my mother struggle for another four or five years." Major league scout Ed Scott (no relation to George), who had signed

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

to his first major league contract, discovered George Scott and signed him as an amateur free agent straight out of high school on May 28, 1962, for $8,000. Eventually promoted to the

' new

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...

Red Sox

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in 1965, Scott became the

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

triple crown winner that year, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average.

Career

He became a Red Sox major-league rookie in 1966 as a third baseman, was switched to first base one week into the season, and played all 162 games that season, the last Red Sox rookie to do so. On Opening Day (April 12), he batted fifth against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and went 1-for-4 with an RBI (drawing a walk with the bases loaded) while gaining his first hit with a triple off Moe Drabowsky. He hit his first home run of the year one week later against

Joe Sparma Joseph Blase Sparma (February 4, 1942 – May 14, 1986) was a quarterback in collegiate football (1961–1962) and a pitcher in Major League Baseball (1964–1970). Quarterback at Ohio State Born in Massillon, Ohio, Sparma attended Ohio State Un ...

against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He batted .245 with 147 hits, 27 home runs, and 90 RBIs (finishing in the top ten in RBIs, home runs, and total bases) while garnering an All-Star selection and finished third in the voting for Rookie of the Year. His good start was soon hampered by a slump in which he could not adjust quickly enough to deal with change-ups and curve ball pitches. Manager

Billy Herman William Jennings Bryan Herman (July 7, 1909 – September 5, 1992) was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1930s and 1940s. Known for his stellar defense and consistent batting, Herman still holds many ...

stated he would bench Scott on July 19, but a rainout occurred on that day before a doubleheader was played, each of which featured Scott starting. At any rate, Scott led all of baseball in strikeouts (152) and times grounded into a double play (25). He spent 158 games at first base (with four at third base), and he led the league in putouts, games, and double plays. Scott did fine with his sophomore season, which turned out to be the longest season of his career, as the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

pennant, led by rookie manager

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

. He also benched Scott for a few games, concerned about him being overweight (desiring a weight of 215 pounds). Scott played 159 games while batting .303 (he would bat .300 just one other time in his career). He walked over 60 times again, but he reduced his strikeout total to 119 while hitting 19 home runs and having 171 hits. He received votes for the MVP Award (finishing 10th with 12% of the vote) while being awarded the Gold Glove (he led the league in putouts, games, assists, errors, and double plays). His team went to the

1967 World Series The 1967 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1967 season. The 64th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

and played the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in a classic seven game series. Scott would hit 6-for-26 while having three walks and six strikeouts and scoring three times, although he would commit the final out of the Series, striking out against

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ...

as the Cardinals won Game 7. Scott was a three-time All-Star in the

in 1966, 1975 and 1977, starting the 1966 Mid-Summer Classic and homering in 1977. Scott hit over 20

s six times in his career, tying

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

for the American League lead in 1975 with a career-high 36 and pacing the league in

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(RBIs) that same season with 109. Known for his glovework at first base, Scott was awarded the

for fielding excellence in the American League during eight seasons (1967–68 and 1971–1976). In a 14-season career, Scott posted a .268

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 271 home runs (which he called "taters") and 1,051 RBIs in 2,034

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

. His nickname was Boomer and he called his glove "Black Beauty". Scott was well-known for having a good sense of humor, and wore a necklace which he once identified to a reporter as being composed of "second baseman's teeth". To complement his unique attire, he also was known for wearing a

batting helmet A batting helmet is worn by batters in the game of baseball or softball. It is meant to protect the batter's head from errant pitches thrown by the pitcher. A batter who is "hit by pitch," due to an inadvertent wild pitch or by intent, may ...

while fielding at first base due to an experience he had with a fan throwing hard objects at him once during a road game. He was traded three times during his career. The first was a ten-player deal that sent him, Jim Lonborg,

Ken Brett Kenneth Alven Brett (September 18, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ...

, Billy Conigliaro,

Joe Lahoud Joseph Michael Lahoud (born April 14, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder and designated hitter, for the Boston Red Sox (1968–71) ...

and

Don Pavletich Donald Stephen Pavletich (July 13, 1938 – March 5, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He was a catcher and first baseman for the Cincinnati Redlegs / Reds (1957, 1959 and 1962–68), Chicago White Sox (1969) and Boston Red So ...

from the Red Sox to the

for

Tommy Harper Tommy Harper (born October 14, 1940) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played with the Cincinnati Reds (1962–67), Cleveland Indians (1968), Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–71), Boston Red S ...

Marty Pattin Martin William Pattin (April 6, 1943 – October 3, 2018) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 475 games in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels (1968), Seattle Pilots / Mi ...

, Lew Krausse and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable on October 10, 1971. While on the Brewers, Scott won five-consecutive Gold Glove awards. In 1975, he was named an all-star and led major league baseball with 36 home-runs and 109 RBI. On December 6, 1976, Scott was traded back to the Red Sox with Bernie Carbo for Boston’s

Cecil Cooper Cecil Celester Cooper (born December 20, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, manager and sports agent. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1971 to 1987 for the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee ...

. Scott saw his second tenure with the Red Sox end when he was traded to the

for Tom Poquette on June 13, 1979. On August 17, he was released by the team, and he joined the

nine days later. He played 105 games that year while batting .254 with 88 hits, 31 walks, and 61 strikeouts (spent mostly on first base, although he did play 17 games as a designated hitter). Oddly enough, he managed to finish in the top five in two categories: double play grounded into (24, 2nd) and errors (10, 4th). After the season, Scott moved to the

, playing for the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

in 1980, and the Tigres del México in 1981.

Legacy

Scott spent nine of his 14 years with the Red Sox and is Boston's all-time leader at first base with 988 games played, including 944 starts. Scott hit 154 of his 271 career home runs with the Red Sox and is a member of the

, having been inducted in 2006. George Scott's 1968 season was noted by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as one of the worst offensive performances ever, especially for a first baseman (he batted a career low .171/.236/.237 in batting average, OBP, and SLG in 124 games in the only season he hit no triples).

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

praised Scott's hitting ability in a 1984 interview. "When Scott first came into the league, no one knew how to pitch to him, and they didn't find out for three years."

Later life and death

After he had left the playing field, he served as a manager for various teams, ranging from the

to independent league baseball. He coached for Roxbury Community College (1991-1995), the

Saskatoon Riot The Saskatoon Riot were a professional baseball team that played at Cairns Field in the North Central League in 1994, in their first season their record was 32-38 under manager Ron Malcolm. The following season the team moved to the Prairie Leag ...

in 1995 (going 26-45), the

Massachusetts Mad Dogs Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

(1996-1999, where he went 181-148), the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings (2001, where he went 40-56), and the

Berkshire Black Bears The Berkshire Black Bears were a minor league baseball team in the independent Northeast League. The Berkshire Black Bears were one of many historical teams to have played in Wahconah Park, starting with the Pittsfield Electrics (1913–14) a ...

(going 14-31 in the first half and 10-34 in the second half of their first and only season in the Northern League in 2002); ultimately, he had a combined record of 271-314 as a manager. Scott died July 28, 2013, in his hometown of Greenville. Although a cause of death was not announced at the time, Scott had been impaired by diabetes for several years. "In losing George Scott, we have lost one of the most talented, colorful, and popular players in our history," said Red Sox vice president/emeritus and team historian Dick Bresciani. "He had great power and agility, with a large personality and a large physical stature. He could light up a clubhouse with his smile, his laugh, and his humor – and he was the best defensive first baseman I have ever seen. We will miss him, and we send our condolences to his family."

Family

Scott was the father of three sons: Dion, George III, and Brian. His grandson Deion Williams, who played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

for

Redan High School Redan High School is a public secondary school of the DeKalb County School District located in Redan, Georgia. Redan was established in 1976 by the DeKalb County School District. The school's mascot is the Raider. Both Redan High School and its ...

in Georgia, was selected by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Williams was converted into a pitcher and last pitched professionally for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, George 1944 births 2013 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American League All-Stars American League home run champions American League RBI champions Baseball players from Mississippi Boston Red Sox players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Florida Instructional League Red Sox players Gold Glove Award winners Kansas City Royals players Leones de Yucatán players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Major League Baseball first basemen Milwaukee Brewers players Mexican League baseball managers New York Yankees players Olean Red Sox players Sportspeople from Greenville, Mississippi Petroleros de Poza Rica players Pittsfield Red Sox players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Tigres de Aragua players Tigres del México players Wellsville Red Sox players Winston-Salem Red Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people