George Altman

George Lee Altman (born March 20, 1933) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who had a lengthy career in both Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball. A three-time National League (NL) All-Star, he appeared in 991 games over nine full seasons in the major leagues. Then, at age 35, he began an eight-year tenure in Japanese baseball, where he would hit 205 home runs and bat .309 with 985 hits.

Altman batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he was listed as tall and .

Early life and college

Altman attended Dillard High School in Goldsboro, where he was captain of the school's basketball team (1950-51), and was a sharpshooting center. He worked in tobacco fields as a youth, and later determined as a sophomore in high school to get serious about school so he could go to college, and not be limited to the tobacco fields or factory work in his hometown.

An assistant athletics coach at Altman's high school recommended he attend Tennessee State University (then known as Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College), an historically black college (HBCU) in Nashville, where he played baseball and basketball, graduating with honors in 1955. He achieved honor roll status and was a member of the sports fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha.

He originally only played basketball at Tennessee State, as the school did not have a baseball team until his junior year. In his junior year, Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach John McClendon (who had actually played basketball under James Naismith) became the team's coach. Even before McClendon came on, Altman's Tennessee State team became the first HBCU school to participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national basketball tournament.

Altman began playing baseball at Tennessee State in his junior year. Among his teammates were future major league player Fred Valentine. In addition to competing against other college teams, they played against Army base teams and Negro League teams.

In February 1960, Goldsboro celebrated George Altman Day. In 1961, he was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was inducted into the Tennessee State University Hall of Fame.

Baseball career

In North America

Monarchs and Cubs

Altman's original plan after graduating college was to become a basketball coach, and he had been offered a position at Memphis’ Lemoyne College. But a Tennessee A & I official recommended him to the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. When he went for a tryout, he was immediately included on the team and his first professional baseball experience came with the Monarchs, where he played three months for the team in 1955. He then was signed by the Chicago Cubs in August 1955, on the recommendation of future Hall of famer Buck O'Neil, the Monarchs player-manager who later became a Cubs scout in 1956.

The Cubs purchased his contract rights from the Monarchs, along with Joe Hartman and Louis Johnson. He made the Cubs' roster in after two years in the minor leagues (all of 1956 and part of 1958) and two in the United States Army (all of 1957 and part of 1958, where he played baseball and basketball for the Fort Carson team). He also played winter league baseball (1958-59) for Marlboro of the Panama Winter League.

In 1959, Altman started 102 games in center field, including on Opening Day, when he went two for three against Don Drysdale in a 6–1 Chicago victory. He batted only .245 as a rookie, but had 12 home runs, 47 runs batted in (RBI), and 54 runs scored, and was selected the team's rookie-of-the-year by the city's sportswriters. Altman's first major league hitting coach was Rogers Hornsby, who has the second highest lifetime batting average in MLB history, and who helped Altman as a hitter.

Altman's playing time diminished slightly in , playing on an injured ankle, and suffering from the lingering effects of having mononucleosis for which he had been hospitalized in March. He started at all three outfield positions, as well as at first base. However, in 95 less plate appearances, Altman raised his batting average (.266), home runs (13) and RBI (51). His slugging percentage jumped from .383 in 1959 to .455 in 1960.

In he claimed the Cubs' starting right field job. He was hitting .349 by the All-star break, only behind Roberto Clemente's .357 batting average in the National League. Altman was named an All-star in 1961, and played in both All-star games that year (MLB played two such games from 1959 through 1962). In his first All-star at bat, during that season's first midsummer classic at Candlestick Park on July 11, Altman hit a pinch hit home run off Mike Fornieles in the eighth inning; the National League ultimately prevailed in the wind-blown contest, 5–4 (in which the winning pitcher Stu Miller was literally blown off the mound while pitching).

For the year, Altman batted .303 in 138 games, smashed 27 home runs, and led the National League in triples with 12. He was in the NL top-ten hitters for home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS), total bases and RBI. He was 14th in NL most valuable player voting. He won player of the month honors over Willie Mays, during a period in which he had hits in 26 of 30 games played. Altman was also known for his defensive skills, and led NL right fielders in fielding percentage in 1961 (.981).

He followed his 1961 season with another strong showing in . Once again making the All-Star team for that year's second game, Altman set personal bests in games played (147), hits (170), batting average (.318) and stolen bases (19). He was sixth in the NL in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, seventh in OPS, ninth in slugging percentage, and sixth in stolen bases. He also slugged 22 homers, and was in the top three in fielding percentage among NL right fielders (.976).

But the Cubs suffered through an embarrassing, ninth-place season, losing over 100 games. In the 1962–1963 offseason, Altman became a major piece in a six-player trade with the St. Louis Cardinals that brought pitchers Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel to Chicago. It was considered a big trade, as the Cubs were giving up their best hitter to bolster their pitching. However, Altman would not again reach the hitting prowess he achieved in 1961-62.

St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Cubs

He became the Cardinals' starting right fielder and played a role in a pennant race that saw the Redbirds challenge the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers into late September before a six-game losing streak from September 16-24 took them from one game out of first place to 6.5 games back, and doomed their chances. They finished in second place, six games behind the Dodgers. Altman started 111 games in right field, principally splitting time in right field with Gary Kolb (19 starts) and Charlie James (21 starts).

But Altman's production declined, as he was platooned and started only against right-handed pitching; his average fell 44 points to .274, and he hit only nine home runs. He still had the fifth best fielding percentage among NL right fielders.

Again, he was traded in the off-season, sent to the last-place New York Mets for pitcher Roger Craig in November. Altman played four more years in the majors. Only in , his sole season with the Mets, did he play regularly. But he suffered a shoulder injury in spring training, and struggled offensively, hitting .230 in 124 games, again hitting only nine homers, and was traded back to the Cubs in January 1965. Playing three years for the Cubs as a spare outfielder, he appeared in 90 games in , 88 games in , and only 15 in , his final MLB season.

Altman spent most of the 1967 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Cubs of the Pacific Coast League, where at age 34 he played regularly and regained his batting stroke. He hit .280, with 15 home runs, 70 RBI, 65 runs and a .838 OPS in only 108 games and 378 at bats.

In Japan

Altman's revival at Tacoma served him well the following season, when he began his career in Japanese baseball. He played from through for the Tokyo/Lotte Orions of the Japan Pacific League (1968-74) and the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League (1975), and enjoyed seasons of 39, 34 and 30 home runs—and four more years with 20 or more home runs—and batted over .300 six times. Highlights from his NPB career included leading the Pacific League in hits (170), runs (84), and RBI (100) in 1968; and being named to the "Best Nine" Pacific League team in 1968, 1970, and 1971. He credited martial arts training for baseball success in Japan.

MLB totals

In his nine-year major league career with the Cubs, Cardinals and Mets, Altman batted .269; his 832 hits included 132 doubles, 34 triples, and 101 home runs. He had 403 RBI in 991 games played. He recorded a .981 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and first base. In three All-Star Game appearances, his 1961 homer was his only hit in three at bats; he played errorless ball in the field over three innings as the National League's right fielder in 1961's second midsummer classic, played July 31 at Fenway Park.

Altman was the first of only three players, along with Hall of fame Cub Ernie Banks and three-time All-Star Felipe Alou, to hit two home runs in a game against Hall of fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Personal life

During the baseball offseason, he worked as a substitute elementary school teacher.

Altman overcame colon cancer at age 42, while playing baseball in Japan.

After retiring from professional baseball, Altman became a commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Altman retired with his wife Etta to O'Fallon, Missouri, near the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association Hall of Fame and Museum. He became involved with horseshoe competitions, and was on a team that won a nationally sanctioned event in 2012.

In 2013, Altman co-authored his autobiography, ''George Altman: My Baseball Journey from the Negro Leagues to the Majors and Beyond.''

See also

* List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
* List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, George
1933 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
American men's basketball players
Baseball players from North Carolina
Burlington Bees players
Chicago Cubs players
Cienfuegos players
Hanshin Tigers players
Kansas City Monarchs players
Lotte Orions players
Major League Baseball outfielders
National League All-Stars
New York Mets players
Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders
Sportspeople from Goldsboro, North Carolina
People from O'Fallon, Missouri
Baseball players from St. Charles County, Missouri
Pueblo Bruins players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Tacoma Cubs players
Tennessee State Tigers baseball players
Tennessee State Tigers basketball players
Tokyo Orions players
American expatriate baseball players in Panama
American expatriate baseball players in Cuba
21st-century African-American sportsmen
21st-century American sportsmen