Edwin Douglas Charles (April 29, 1933 – March 15, 2018) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

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 (AL) ...

. A right-handed hitter, Charles played for the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

(1962–67) and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

(1967–69). He was listed as tall and .

Playing career

Minor league career

Charles was originally signed by the Boston Braves in 1952. He spent eight seasons in the Braves' farm system in the still-segregated

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

, during which he wrote

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

concerning

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 ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. Due to the presence of longtime All-Star Eddie Mathews at third base, the Braves traded Charles to the Kansas City Athletics prior to the season with

Joe Azcue José Joaquín Azcue López (born August 18, 1939) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where he played the bulk of hi ...

and Manny Jiménez for Lou Klimchock and

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Day ...

Kansas City Athletics

In his rookie season of

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

, Charles batted .288 with 17

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 is ...

s, 74

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 ba ...

and 20 stolen bases; the batting average, home runs and stolen bases would all be career highs. He was also named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Roster. Charles would retain his steady play for the Athletics over the next four seasons; in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

he batted .267 with 15 home runs and a career-best 79 RBIs, and while his batting average fell to .241 in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

he still managed 16 home runs and 63 RBIs. Prior to the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

season, Athletics owner Charlie Finley moved the fences back in

Municipal Stadium Municipal Stadium may refer to: Europe and Asia *Beirut Municipal Stadium, Lebanon *Herzliya Municipal Stadium, Israel *Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (1957), Japan *Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala or Municipal Stadium, Pakistan *Kfarjoz Municipal Stadium, ...

, and though Charles batted .269 that year and .286 in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

, his combined home run total was 17—the same number he had hit in his rookie season.

New York Mets

On May 10,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

, the Athletics traded Charles to the New York Mets for

Larry Elliot Lawrence Lee Elliot (born March 5, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. An outfielder, he appeared in 157 Major League games, all but 12 of them for the New York Mets (; ). The native of San Diego, California, attended Herb ...

and $50,000. He would be the oldest regular on his new team. In

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, he led the Mets in home runs with 15. In 1969, he shared third base duties with rookie Wayne Garrett as a member of the '' Miracle Mets'' team that unexpectedly won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

, after finishing dead last in five of its first seven seasons and 9th in a 10-team

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in the other two. That year, the Mets had trailed the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

by as many as 10 games in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

(both leagues had split into two divisions after expanding from 10 teams to 12) on August 13. On September 24, they clinched the division with a 6–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, with Charles homering off Steve Carlton (his final Major League home run) and

Donn Clendenon Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he ...

homering twice and Gary Gentry pitching a four-hitter for the victory. Charles played in four of the five games in the World Series, in which the Mets defeated the heavily favored

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 ...

. After losing the first game, the Mets won the next four; Charles scored the winning run in Game Two on an Al Weis single in the ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

. He was the oldest of the "Miracle Mets" at age 36. After the Series, Charles, whose nickname, "The Glider", came from his third base play and graceful base running, was unconditionally released by the Mets. In his career he batted .263 with 86 home runs and 421 RBIs in 1005

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

Post-playing career

Charles served as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the Mets, and coached the Kingsport Mets. He worked with at-risk youth in group homes in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

. Charles died on March 15, 2018, at the age of 84. Having served in the U.S. Army during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

, where he attained the ranking of Private First Class, he was buried at Leavenworth National Cemetery in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the ...

In popular culture

Ed Charles appears in the 2013 movie '' 42'', played by

Dusan Brown ''The Lion Guard'' is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 film '' The Lion King''. The series was first broadcast with a television film titled ''The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar'' on Disn ...

. The scene depicts Charles' meeting with

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

, when (after Jackie's train had long since departed) Charles dashed out and put his ear to the train tracks, enthusiastically declaring that he could still hear the train.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ed 1933 births 2018 deaths African-American baseball players Baseball players from Florida Corpus Christi Clippers players Fort Lauderdale Lions players Jacksonville Braves players Kansas City Athletics players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball third basemen New York Mets players New York Mets scouts Quebec Braves players Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida Vancouver Mounties players Wichita Braves players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people