Cecil Washington "Turkey" Tyson (December 6, 1914 – February 17, 2000), nicknamed "Slim", 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. Tyson is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His MLB career consisted of one

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, ...

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, A ...

for the

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 ...

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...

on April 23, 1944. He went 0-for-1 for a

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 .000. Tyson did not appear in the field. The 29-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

stood 6'5" and weighed 225 lbs. He played 15 seasons in the minor leagues, beginning with the

Tallahassee Capitals The Tallahassee Capitals were a Minor League Baseball team, based in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, that operated between 1935 and 1942. Playing as members of the Georgia–Florida League (1935–1942, 1946–1950) and Alabama–Florida Lea ...

of the Georgia-Florida League and the

Greenwood Dodgers The Greenwood Dodgers were a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers that was based in Greenwood, Mississippi. They played in the Cotton States League and operated from 1934–1940 and 1947 and 1952. The team won the leagu ...

of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

in 1938. His best minor league season was in 1940, when he had a batting average of .363 with 5 home runs for two separate teams. His last minor league season was in 1952 with the Rocky Mount Leafs of the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

. He was a first baseman and outfielder. He died in his hometown of

Elm City, North Carolina Elm City is a town in Nash and Wilson County, United States. The population was 1,298 in 2010. It is a suburb of Wilson, North Carolina. Elm City elected its first Black female mayor in its November 2021 municipal elections. History The Elm C ...

, at the age of 85.

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Philadelphia Phillies players Hagerstown Owls players Baseball players from North Carolina 1914 births 2000 deaths People from Elm City, North Carolina Lumberton Auctioneers players Durham Bulls players Greenwood Dodgers players Martinsville Manufacturers players Raleigh Capitals players Rocky Mount Leafs players Tallahassee Capitals players Trenton Packers players Utica Blue Sox players Winston-Salem Twins players Minor league baseball managers 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-bio-stub