Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter (March 7, 1910 – July 1, 2010) was an American pitcher in Negro league baseball and Minor League Baseball. Listed at , , Porter batted and threw right handed.

He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Colloquially known as 'Andy Pullman', because he worked as hard as a Pullman porter, he was noted for his overpowering fastball and a hard-to-hit slider.

Porter joined the Negro Baseball leagues in 1932 and retired in 1954 after a 22-year career, playing for several teams all over the country and even outside its borders, in Canada Cuba, when he was selected for the East–West All-Star Game after collecting the second-highest vote total of any Elite Giants player, although he did not appear in the game. During the off-season, he pitched particularly well in the California Winter League, going 12–3 for the Giants, including 66 strikeouts while allowing only 21 walks in 122.0 innings of work.

Porter stayed with the Elite Giants in 1938, posting a 4–1 record and 2.57 ERA in six games (five starts) During the winter, he traveled to Cuba and went 3–4 for the Leopardos de Santa Clara club.

Meanwhile, a Negro league baseball ban on players who jumped to Mexico had been clarified before the 1940 season as a three-year suspension.

In between, Porter played winter ball with the Sabios de Vargas club of the Venezuelan League in its 1949–1950 season. He posted a 5–6 record and a 5.26 ERA in 18 appearances, including 12 starts and five complete games, but struggled with his control throughout the season while allowing 60 walks and striking out 37 in 101.0 innings. After that, he pitched briefly for the Winnipeg Buffaloes of the Mandak League in the summer of 1950. He spent his final playing days in the Mandak League with the Carman Cardinals, appearing for them over part of two seasons spanning 1952–1953.

Retirement After baseball, Porter began working for Goodyear Rubber Company in 1954. He retired in 1977 and moved to Los Angeles, California.

Prior to the start of the 2008 MLB draft, Major League Baseball held a special draft of the surviving Negro league players to acknowledge and rectify their exclusion from the major leagues on the basis of race. The idea of the special draft was conceived by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, well known for his exceptional community service through the years. Every MLB team participated in the selection process, as 'Andy Pullman' was drafted as a pitcher by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Porter died in 2010 in Los, Angeles, California. At the time of his death, he was the second oldest living Negro league ballplayer after Emilio 'Millito' Navarro.