Calvin Ross Abrams (March 2, 1924 – February 25, 1997), nicknamed "Abie", was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) between 1949 and 1956 for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Baseball career

Minor league

Abrams was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and signed by Joe Labate, a scout for the

, out of James Madison High School in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in , and assigned to the Olean Oilers of the Class D Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League). He played in 19 games that season. In January 1943, he was inducted into the Army. He was assigned to Battery B 500th

Anti-Aircraft Artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

, and served in Europe and the Pacific with two

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s in the Pacific. Abrams was also awarded the

Philippine Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on December 20, 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Th ...

with one

bronze star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. He was released from the service in January 1946. He then played for the

Danville Dodgers Danville or Dansville may refer to: Places Canada *Danville, Quebec United States *Danville, Alabama * Danville, Arkansas *Danville, California *Danville, Georgia *Danville, Illinois * Danville, Indiana * Danville, Iowa * Danville, Kansas *Danv ...

in the Class B Three-I League for the season, hitting .331 and leading the league with 13 triples. The next two seasons, Abrams was with the

Mobile Bears The Mobile Bears were an American minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. The franchise was a member of the old Southern Association, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the ''Sea Gu ...

in the Class AA

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, batting .345 and .337.

Major league

On April 20, 1949, he made his Major League debut with the Dodgers, and then was sent to the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the AA

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

for the rest of the season, where he hit .336. He split between the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

of the AAA American Association, for whom he hit .333 with a league-leading .502 on base percentage, and the Dodgers. A New York Post headline once read: ''Mantle, Schmantle. We Got Abie.'' In , he changed his uniform number to 18, explaining later: "18 means a lot." The number 18 stands for the Hebrew word for life. He wore this number for the majority of his career. On October 1, 1950, the Dodgers and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

were playing a game that would determine which team would win the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

pennant. In the bottom of the 9th inning, with nobody out and the game tied 1–1, Abrams was on second base when

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing f ...

hit a single to short center field. He was waved home by third-base coach

Milt Stock Milton Joseph Stock (July 11, 1893 – July 16, 1977) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1913 through 1926. The Chicago native played for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Robins and St. Louis Cardinal ...

, and was gunned down at the plate by a perfect throw by Phillies center fielder

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames "Putt-Putt", "the Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He pl ...

, who had fielded the ball on one bounce. The play resulted in the preservation of the 1–1 tie, and facilitated the Phils'

Dick Sisler Richard Alan Sisler (November 2, 1920 – November 20, 1998) was an American player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball. The son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler, Dick Sisler's younger brother Dave wa ...

's 10th-inning pennant-winning home run. In 1951, his manager

Charlie Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (''pronounced:'' DREE-sen) (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both B ...

, who was "capable of cruelty", failed to play him on "Cal Abrams Day." He finished the season with a .419 on-base percentage. On June 9, 1952, he was traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers to the

for Rudy Rufer and cash. On October 14, 1952, he was traded by the Reds with

Gail Henley Gail Curtice Henley (October 15, 1928 – November 25, 2024) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. Although his playing career lasted for 14 seasons (1948–1961), he appeared in only 14 games in Major League Baseball ...

and Joe Rossi to the

for

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1950 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds ...

. In , he hit 15 home runs, his career high, and had 13 assists and 3 double plays-leading all NL right fielders. On May 25, 1954, he was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the

for

Dick Littlefield Richard Bernard Littlefield (March 18, 1926 – November 20, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Car ...

. In 1954, he was 7th in the AL with a .400 OBP, and 10th in the league with 7 triples. He came in 26th in the AL MVP voting. In , he had a .413 OBP, was 8th in the league in walks with 89, and was 4th in the league in assists by a center fielder with 6. On October 18, 1955, he was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the

for

Bobby Adams Robert Henry Adams (December 14, 1921 – February 13, 1997) was an American professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1946 through 1959 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, ...

. He remained in the Major Leagues into the season, when he was sent to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

in the AAA

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. The next year Abrams retired from play. In all of his minor league seasons, his lowest batting average was .331. He played in 567 major league games with the Dodgers, Reds, Pirates, Orioles, and White Sox. In eight seasons, Abrams posted a .269

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 ...

(433-for-1611) with 257 runs, 32

home runs 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 ...

, 138

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

, 304

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, .386

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .392

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. Defensively, he recorded a .977

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing at all three outfield positions.

After baseball

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Abrams owned The Blossom Lounge in

Garden City South, New York Garden City South is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 4,119 at the 2020 census. History Garden City South's name reflects upon its geographic loca ...

, near

Adelphi College Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

, later University. In the 1960s Abrams was also associated with Camp Iroquois in Peterborough. New Hampshire which was owned by Leo and Rose Trigoboff. Following the devastating ninth inning loss by his former

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the ...

team, again to the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

in the final game of a three-game playoff for the National League pennant in 1962, he was asked by an Adelphi student what he thought of the just concluded game. "Who was playing?" Abrams asked in all sincerity. In the 1990s, he was working for the Norwegian Cruise Line, giving talks and signing photographs (Brooklyn) while emphasizing his two outstanding on-base percentage seasons.

Death

Abrams died in 1997 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He was buried in his Brooklyn Dodgers uniform in the Garden of Moses section of the Star of David Cemetery in

North Lauderdale North Lauderdale is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 44,794. History At its creation in 1963, it was largely farmland on th ...

Hall of Fame

In 1996 Abrams, who was Jewish, was inducted into the

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

Jewish American Sports Hall of Fame, in Washington, D.C.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Cal 1924 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American Jews American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Philadelphia Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Danville Dodgers players Fort Worth Cats players Jewish American baseball players Jewish American military personnel Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (International League) players Mobile Bears players Olean Oilers players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers 20th-century American sportsmen