Solomon Louis Drake (October 23, 1930 – August 18, 2021) 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 ...

who 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) with 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 ...

Los Angeles 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, 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 ...

during the 1956 and 1959 baseball seasons, totaling 141

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 ...

. Drake and his brother,

Sammy Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel or Samantha, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music * Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy ...

, were the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

siblings to play in the big leagues. Solly Drake was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

who threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, and was listed as tall, weighing .

Early life and career

Born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, he graduated from Dunbar High School. Later that year, Drake began his baseball career when he joined the Elmwood Giants of the Mandak League as a 17-year-old outfielder; he returned for two more seasons, in Manitoba. A .300 hitter with Elmwood in 1950, Drake was signed before the 1951 season by the Chicago Cubs, as an amateur free agent. He spent that year with the Class C Topeka Owls, a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Cubs affiliate. The

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

interrupted his career for two years with Drake spending 1951 through 1953, in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Following his military service, he completed his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

, at

Philander Smith College Philander Smith University (previously Philander Smith College) is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNC ...

, and returned to minor league baseball in time for the 1954 season, with the Class A

Des Moines Bruins Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball team based in Des Moines, Iowa. The team played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Pioneer Memorial Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs (1947–195 ...

Major league career

In April 1956, at the age of 25, Drake made his major league debut, with the Cubs. That same year, he also played with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

, and the Triple-A (AAA)

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 ...

. During the off-season, Drake played winter league in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, from 1957–1959. He was named the 1957 Caribbean Series

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, after leading Cuba's Tigres de Marianao to the championship. In 1958, Drake led the

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 ...

in several offensive categories, earning him a return to 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 ...

(NL), playing with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, in 1959. He announced his retirement from professional baseball, following the 1961 season. Drake's younger brother, Sammy Drake, was also a professional player, who spent two MLB seasons with the Cubs and

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

. The

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

states that the Drake brothers, Solly and Sammy, were the first African-American siblings to play in the majors in the 20th century.

Death

Drake died on August 18, 2021. He was 90 years old.Dodger Blue.com. "Former Dodgers Outfielder Solly Drake Passes Away." https://dodgerblue.com/former-dodgers-outfielder-solly-drake-passes-away/2021/08/20/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Solly 1930 births 2021 deaths African-American baseball players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Des Moines Bruins players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Montreal Royals players Philadelphia Phillies players Philander Smith Panthers baseball players Portland Beavers players Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Baseball players from Little Rock, Arkansas Topeka Owls players Elmwood Giants players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baptists from Arkansas African-American Baptist ministers 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Marianao players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba