Spottswood Poles (December 27, 1887 – September 12, 1962) was an American

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 ...

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 ...

's Negro leagues. One of the fastest players of his era, Poles was sometimes referred to as "the black

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

Career

According to Negro leagues historian James Riley, Poles' speed was said to be comparable to that of Cool Papa Bell, a Negro league star of the 1930s generally considered to be the fastest man in the history of organized baseball. Poles was a left-handed batter with a keen eye who hit for a high batting average. Spot Poles

Poles started playing organized Negro ball for the Harrisburg Giants in 1906 and first became a professional for Sol White's Philadelphia Giants in 1909. Poles soon followed White to the New York Lincoln Giants in 1911, where he blossomed into a star; in his first four seasons with the Lincoln Giants, 1911–1914, Poles attained batting averages of .440, .398, .414, and .487 against all levels of competition. Poles then spent the next few seasons jumping among the New York Lincoln Stars, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and Hilldale Daisies. While with the Daisies, Poles joined the 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters), a unit attached to the French Army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, earning decorations (five battle stars and a Purple Heart) for his combat experience in France as a sergeant. He returned home and continued a successful baseball career, playing for the Lincoln Giants from 1919 to 1923. Following his playing career, Poles was hired multiple times to coach the Harrisburg Giants, once in 1928 and again in 1953. Poles is credited with a lifetime batting average of over .400 in all competitions and hit .319 in four winters in Cuba. A tantalizing aspect of his career is his success against white major league teams; Poles hit .610 against these teams, including three consecutive hits against Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander. After retiring from baseball, Poles first worked as a taxi cab operator and then found employment at Olmsted Air Force Base in Middletown, Pennsylvania, which enabled him to retire and live comfortably until his death at the age of 74. Because of his Army service, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poles, Spot 1887 births 1962 deaths Baseball outfielders Philadelphia Giants players Club Fé players New York Lincoln Giants players Hilldale Club players New York Lincoln Stars players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Baseball players from Virginia African Americans in World War I United States Army personnel of World War I People from Winchester, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery African-American United States Army personnel