Lee Maye
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Arthur Lee Maye (December 11, 1934 – July 17, 2002) was an American
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 ...
player. He played eleven seasons in the majors as 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 ...
for the
Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...
(1959–1965),
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
(1965–1966),
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
(1967–1969), Washington Senators (1969–1970), 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 ...
(1970–1971). Maye was also well known as a
rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
singer. He was the lead singer of the Los Angeles–based
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
group Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns in the 1950s.


Early life

Maye was born on December 11, 1934, in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
. He was raised in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and attended Jefferson High School. The Milwaukee Braves signed him as an amateur free agent in 1954. Maye also began his professional singing career in 1954, going by his full name "Arthur Lee Maye" rather than Lee Maye.


Early baseball and music careers

Maye's dual career began at Los Angeles' Jefferson High School. Maye's first high school group was the Carmels, who he sang with throughout high school. He also sang in the school hallways with Jesse Belvin and future members of
the Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...
,
the Penguins The Penguins were an American doo-wop group from Los Angeles, California, that were active during the 1950s and early 1960s. They are known for their 1954 hit song, " Earth Angel", which was one of the first rhythm and blues songs to cross ov ...
, and
the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...
. He was one of the progenitors of the harmonizing style of singing known as the "Jeff High Sound". Maye starred in baseball for both Jefferson High and local semi-pro teams. Milwaukee Braves scout Johnny Moore not only saw his potential as a hitter with line drive power but clocked him in the 100-yard dash at under 10-seconds. Moore, whom the Braves held in high esteem, convinced the Braves to draft and sign him. Arthur Lee Maye later explained, "Baseball was my first love. I could always sing at fifty, but I couldn't play baseball at fifty." He began his professional baseball career in 1954 with a Milwaukee Braves Pioneer League farm team in Boise, Idaho. At this time he also started his professional recording career, joining with Richard Berry and Johnny Coleman to record "The Fine One" b/w "Please Please Baby" as the "5" Hearts on the Flair label (the company put the "5" in quotes as only three sang on the record). They next released "Sweet Thing b/w "Rock Bottom" under the name "Rams." Maye also sang the "di-di-di's" behind Richard Berry on the original "
Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a Standard (music), stand ...
."


Minor league baseball

Maye played all or parts of the 1954-60 seasons in the Braves minor league system. Maye played for the Boise Pilots ( Class-C 1954-55), Eau Claire Braves (Class-C 1955), Yakima Bears (Class-B 1955),
Evansville Braves The Evansville Braves was the primary nickname of a minor league baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana 1938–1942 and 1946–1957, playing in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Bob Uecker and Warren Spahn pla ...
( Class-B 1955-56), Jacksonville Braves (
Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...
1957), Wichita Braves ( Triple-A 1958),
Austin Senators The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888–1890, 1905, ...
( Double-A 1958), and
Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
(Triple-A 1959-60). His annual
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 ...
was near or over .300 every years but 1957. In 1956 at Evansville, he hit .330, with 24
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 ...
, 99
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 ...
(RBI), 103 runs scored and an
on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...
(OPS) of .934. In 1959 he split the season between Triple-A Louisville and the major league Braves team. At Louisville, he had a .339 batting average with 17 home runs, 79 RBI, 64 runs scored and an OPS of 1.002, playing in only 94 games. He also split time between Louisville and Milwaukee in 1960, hitting .337 in 72 games for the Colonels. He also played in the
Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...
(1958-62).


Major league baseball

Maye was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall, and weighed 190 pounds (86.2 kg). He batted left-handed, but threw right-handed. In a 13-year Major League Baseball career Maye played for the Milwaukee Braves, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and the Chicago White Sox. From 1961 to 1966, and again in 1969, he started in more than half of his team's games, with a high of 133 games started in 1964. Maye was also used quite often as a
pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...
during his 13-season career. Maye was first called up to the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, hitting .300 in 51 games and 140
at bats 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, b ...
. He was called up again in 1960, playing in 41 games, hitting .301 in 83 at bats. Maye won the starting left field position in 1961, but injured his shoulder on opening day and missed over a month of play. He still appeared in 110 games that year, hitting .271 in 373 at bats, with 14 home runs (his career high). He and future hall of fame teammate
Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...
each hit home runs in every game of a three-game regular season series, which has only happened twice in team history. After an excellent season in Puerto Rican winter ball in 1962, he suffered a respiratory infection that was severe enough to hospitalize him for two weeks, and caused him to miss two months of the Braves season. He played in only 99 games with a .244 batting average. During a game against the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
on August 8, 1962, Maye hit 2 home runs. In 1963, he came back to play in 124 games, once again hitting .271, with 11 home runs in 442 at bats. In 1964, Maye had personal career-highs in almost every category; including 153
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. Associat ...
, 588 at bats, 96 runs, 74 RBI, a .793 OPS, and a .304 batting average. He also led 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 ...
with 44 doubles. On September 27, 1964, he had five hits in a game (four singles and a double) against the Philadelphia Phillies. (During the same year, his solo album ''Halfway Out of Love'' sold over 500,000 copies.) After the 1964 season, Maye, along with
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. Considered one ...
, expressed concern about the team's moving from
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
for fear of racial discrimination. He later flew to Atlanta before the 1965 season to specifically dispel the notion that he was concerned about playing there. A 1965 ankle injury hurt his season and career. On May 1, he hurt his right knee and ankle. To his surprise, after appearing in only 15 games for the Braves, on May 23, he was traded to the Houston Astros for Ken Johnson and Jim Beauchamp. Maye went on to play in 108 games for the Astros that year, hitting .251 with only three home runs. Playing his 1966 home games in the Astrodome, he hit .288 with 9 home runs. in 115 games. On August 11, 1966, he once again had five hits in a game (four hits and a double), this time against the Cubs. Huey Meaux managed his music career during this time. Meaux got him studio time with JAMIE and regular bookings at popular Houston nightclubs. The Astros traded him to Cleveland before the 1967 season for Jim Landis, Jim Weaver and Doc Edwards. He hit .259 in 115 games. In 1968, the year of the pitcher, Maye hit .281 in 109 games. Maye was traded to the Washington Senators during the 1969 season for Bill Denehy and cash. He batted .290 with 9 home runs for the Senators, in only 71 games. He had personality issues with Manager
Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
as a manager, but respected his knowledge. In 1970, again under Williams, he played in only 96 games, hitting .263, when he was released by the Senators. He was claimed by the White Sox toward the end fo the 1970 season. He played his final major league year in 1971 with the White Sox, hitting .205 in only 44 at bats. All, or most, of his
MLB 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 ...
career was during baseball's second deadball era, with the major league scoring draught running from 1963-72. Lee Maye said, "The greatest thrill is not getting to the major leagues. It's staying there. I played 13 seasons when they had only 16 teams and I think that was a great accomplishment for me." Maye's career totals include 1,288
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. Associat ...
, 1,109
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 ...
, 94
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 ( ...
s, 419 RBI, and a lifetime
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 ...
of .274. During his career, Maye also had eight 4-hit games, including two singles and two doubles, with four runs scored vs. 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 ...
(April 21, 1970)


Music career

Maye sang in a tenor and falsetto. Music journalist and critic Phil Milstein called his singing "deft" and "authoritative". He was considered one of the finest tenors coming from Los Angeles in the early
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
era. Maye recorded on over a dozen labels to include Modern, Tower, Specialty, ABC-Paramount, and Buddah, and opened a
Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
show featuring
Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...
,
Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as the ...
, and
Barbara Mason Barbara Mason (born August 9, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song " Yes, I'm Ready". She has released ...
. Maye told Milstein, "I am the best singing athlete that ever lived. I am not bragging. It's just a fact."


Arthur Lee Maye & The Crowns

He also formed the musical group Arthur Lee Maye & The Crowns in 1954, a "West Coast Rhythm and Blues Vocal Group", that also included Berry. The Crowns had back-to-back LA area hits on the Modern label with "Truly" and "Love Me Always." On the Specialty label in 1956, they sang their best known record, "Gloria." They also had an important 1956 record on the DIG label titled "This is the Night for Love." Maye said of his cross country stops, "I'd watch all of them, any entertainer when I was in a town. You learn from each other. My stage presence wasn't polished, so I'd go to learn how to get my stage presence from the other top guys who did it for a living".


Baseball and music conflict

Arthur Lee Maye's baseball and music career often conflicted. He sang under the name Arthur Lee Maye but played baseball under Lee Maye. Another
Lee May Lee Andrew May (March 23, 1943 – July 29, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and designated hitter from to for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Bal ...
(Lee Andrew May) broke into
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 1965 and soon put up bigger home run and RBI numbers. Only one record credits his dual career. A 1959 release "Will You Be Mine" and "Honey Honey" on CASH had Lee Maye of the Milwaukee Braves on the label. Playing baseball full-time created a time lag problem. Maye said, "When I was playing baseball all the requisite hours, I was a year behind in music, and I never got a chance to catch up with the music trend that I should have been with. I truly was behind the time, and I acknowledge that. Baseball and singing collided". He also knew that baseball prevented his going on tour to promote his songs. "When you're playing baseball and singing it's a very tough career for both of those, because you have to be at both places at the same time of the year, and you can't do that".


Post-baseball career

Lee Maye tried for ten years after his playing career to find a job in organized baseball. He failed, as few non-playing baseball jobs existed for blacks at the time. His outspoken views on racism in baseball angered its owners. And Maye's artistic temperament sometimes clashed with teammates and coaches. Maye later worked with
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
until his retirement.


Music career revival

In the mid-1980s, Maye returned to the recording studio with Dave Antrel and his Antrel Records, recording "Moonlight" b/w "Happy and In Love." "Moonlight" captured the later, early 1960s New York street corner sound. Arthur Lee Maye was very proud of "Moonlight." "Moonlight" made several compilation CDs, played a role in the novel '64 Intruder, and gets airplay on doo-wop radio programs. Maye had a European tour planned when he became stricken with liver cancer.


Death

Maye died at the age of 67 in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...
, of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
and is buried at
Inglewood Park Cemetery Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed establishment of "the larges ...
in
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
.


See also

* List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Lee Maye
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Maye, Lee 1934 births 2002 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American baseball players Austin Braves players Boise Braves players Boise Pilots players Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Eau Claire Braves players Evansville Braves players The Flairs members Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Imperial Records artists Jacksonville Braves players Jamie Records artists Jefferson High School (Los Angeles) alumni Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Wichita Braves players Yakima Bears players