Dan Bankhead

Dan Bankhead
Pitcher
Born: May 3, 1920(1920-05-03) Empire, Alabama
Died: May 2, 1976(1976-05-02) (aged 55) Houston, Texas
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 26, 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
July 18, 1951 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Career statistics
Win–loss record	9-6
Earned run average	6.52
Strikeouts	111
Teams
Brooklyn Dodgers (1947, 1950-1951)
Career highlights and awards
Participated in the 1947 World Series

Daniel Robert Bankhead (born May 3, 1920 in Empire, Alabama - May 2, 1976, Houston, Texas), was the first black pitcher in Major League Baseball. After a strong career in the Negro League playing for the Memphis Red Sox, he was signed at age 24 by Branch Rickey to play in the Brooklyn Dodgers' farm system. Bankhead, an excellent hitter who was leading the Negro League with a .385 batting average when purchased by the Dodgers, hit a home run in his first major league at bat on August 26, 1947, in Ebbets Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates; however, this was to be the only major league home run Bankhead would hit, and he gave up ten hits in 3-1/3 innings pitching in relief that day. He was shipped to the minor leagues for the 1948 and 1949 seasons. Pitching for clubs in Nashua, New Hampshire and St. Paul, Minnesota in 1948, he recorded 24 wins and six losses.

He returned to the Dodgers for the 1950 season, appearing in 41 games, with twelve starts, and finished with nine wins, four losses and a 5.50 earned run average. In 1951, his final year in the majors, he appeared in seven games, losing his only decision, with an ERA of 15.43. He died of cancer at a Veterans Administration hospital in Houston, Texas. During World War II, he served in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945.

See also

• Home run in first Major League at-bat

Sources

• Sheehan, Joseph (August 27, 1947), "Long Blows Help Beat Brooks, 16-3", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/, retrieved 2007-08-05 
• Feuer, Alan (1950), "Bankhead in Dodger Fold", New York Times, February 20, 1950, http://www.nytimes.com/, retrieved 2007-08-05 
• Feuer, Alan (1976), "Dan Bankhead, 54, Ex-Dodger, Is Dead", New York Times, May 7, 1976, http://www.nytimes.com/, retrieved 2007-08-05 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Dan Bankhead at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Bankhead, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	May 3, 1920
Place of birth	Empire, Alabama
Date of death	May 2, 1976
Place of death	Houston, Texas