Jack Graham/pagetext

From SABR Encyclopedia

Contents 1 Profile 1.1 Personal 1.2 Pre-professional career 1.3 Achievements 1.4 Outside of baseball 1.5 Contract signing 2 Sources

Profile

Personal

• Resided in Long Beach, California in 1952 and 1954.
• Was an expert on flying, having a pilot's license.
• Says his greatest thrill in baseball was winning the 1947 International League championship on the final day of the season playing for Jersey City.
• Graduated from Wilson High School in Long Beach in 1936.

Pre-professional career

• Was captain of the baseball team one year in high school.
• Played American Legion ball before turning professional.

Achievements

• Was beaned by Red Adams and was out of action for a month in 1948 but still hit 48 home runs.
• Led the 1939 Eastern League in runs batted in with 94, home runs with 29 and triples with 16.
• Led the 1940 Eastern League in home runs with 20.
• Voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1948 Pacific Coast League.

Outside of baseball

• 1952 Pacific Coast League Thumbnail Sketches showed him as having been in the Air Force for part of 1943 and all of 1944 and 1945.
• Served a total of 31 months in the Air Corps.

Contract signing

• Was signed to his first contract by the late Bill Essick of the New York Yankees.
• Was obtained by San Francisco along with pitcher Bob Savage for Jack Tobin and Don White in December, 1950.

Sources

• 1952 Pacific Coast League Thumbnail Sketches.
• 1954 California League Gold Book (Sixth Edition).