Frankie Austin/pagetext

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Contents

Profile

Personal

  • Self-identified as being of African American-Spanish ancestry.
  • Listed hobbies as swimming and movies.
  • Flied out as a pinch hitter in his first game with the Philadelphia Stars.
  • Leading the Negro American League in hitting with .390 in 1944 as the lead-off batter in his first year as a pro was his greatest thrill.

Pre-professional career

  • Won three letters in track and baseball in a Panama high school.
  • Was a semi-pro pitcher when Bill Yancey, a scout for the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro American League, discovered him.

Achievements

  • Only once did he fall below .300 in his five years in the Negro American League and Panama loop.
  • Led the 1952 Pacific Coast League in times at bat with 702.

Contract signing

  • Was purchased from the Philadelphia Stars by the New York Yankees who optioned him to Newark in 1949.

Sources

  • 1952 Pacific Coast League Thumbnail Sketches.
  • 1953 Pacific Coast League Sketch Book.
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