Joseph Vann Durham (July 31, 1931 – April 28, 2016) 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 ...

player and

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 ...

. An

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 appeared 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 ...

in 93

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

for the

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 ...

(1954 and 1957) and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1959). Durham attended Huntington High School in his native city of

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

, and

Shaw University Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...

. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and . Durham began his professional career in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

with the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

,The Baltimore Sun, 1995.09.21
/ref> then was signed by

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...

, president of the St. Louis Browns, prior to the 1953 season. He was in the Browns'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, 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 pl ...

when the franchise moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, in . After an outstanding season in the Double-A

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 ...

in 1954, he was recalled by the Orioles in September and in ten games collected nine

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 44

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s, including his first Major League

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

off Al Sima of the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

on September 12. Durham was one of the two African-American players on the Orioles roster in 1954. The other was Jay Heard.Integrating the Orioles: Baseball and Race in Baltimore Author:Bob Luke ASIN : B01BI71SDQ Print Length : 216 pages Publisher : McFarland (February 5, 2016) Publication Date : February 5, 2016 Durham then missed the 1955–1956 seasons performing military service. He began the season in the Texas League — but was recalled by Baltimore in June after batting a torrid .391 over the first 50 games of the season. He then appeared in 77 games for the Orioles over the rest of the year, starting 40 games as an outfielder, but he batted only .186 and was sent to the Triple-A

Vancouver Mounties The Vancouver Mounties were a high-level minor league baseball club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1956– 62 and – 69. Its home field was Capilano Stadium. During the Mounties' first tw ...

for 1958. A solid season there (.285 and 85

runs batted in 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 ...

) resulted in Durham's selection by the Cardinals in the 1958

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He began on the Cardinals' roster, but appeared in only six games, starting one. He went hitless in five

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s and scored two runs. He was then returned to Vancouver and the Orioles' system. Apart from 1963, which he spent in the

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

' system, Durham played at the top level of the Baltimore organization through 1964, then became the team's

batting practice This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He moved into the Orioles' front office in 1986, then became a coach for the Class A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. All told, he was a member of the Orioles' organization for over 40 years. Durham died on April 28, 2016, at the Northwest Hospital Hospice Center in

Randallstown, Maryland Randallstown is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-centu ...

, at the age of 84.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham, Joe 1931 births 2016 deaths African-American baseball players American military personnel of the Korean War Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from Virginia Baseball players from Newport News, Virginia Chicago American Giants players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball outfielders People from Randallstown, Maryland Baseball players from Baltimore County, Maryland Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players San Antonio Missions players Shaw Bears baseball players Vancouver Mounties players York White Roses players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen