Sammy Byrd

Samuel Dewey Byrd (October 5, 1906 – May 11, 1981) was an American professional baseball outfielder and professional golfer. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and on the PGA Tour. Byrd is the only person to play in both the World Series and the Masters Tournament. as the second of four children of Rhone and Delphia Byrd. He was often known by his middle name when he was growing up. His family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1911. They lived near a golf course, where he worked as a caddy. He graduated from Birmingham's Simpson High School, where he played baseball and basketball. His father, who worked in construction, trained him to be a bricklayer.

Professional career Baseball career After playing sandlot baseball in Birmingham, Byrd signed with the Birmingham Barons of the Class A Southern Association in 1926. The Barons optioned him to the Jonesboro Buffaloes of the Class D Tri-State League before the start of the season. The league folded during the season, He played for the Knoxville Smokies of the Class B South Atlantic League in 1927, where he batted .331 with 15 home runs in 140 games. During the 1927 season, the New York Yankees purchased Byrd's contract. In 1928, the Yankees optioned Byrd to the Albany Senators of the Class A Eastern League, and he batted .371 with 18 home runs in 130 games.

Byrd made his Major League Baseball debut with the Yankees on May 11, 1929, as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement for Earle Combs. He batted .312 with five home runs in 202 plate appearances across 62 games for the Yankees in 1929. In 1930, Byrd batted .284 with six home runs in 254 plate appearances across 92 games. He batted .270 with three home runs in 281 plate appearances across 115 games in 1931.

Byrd got a big opportunity to be the starting center fielder for the Yankees in 1932, as Combs went to the bench. Using a baseball bat, in place of the bats he usually used, helped him to match his home run total for all of 1931 before April 1932 ended. By May, Byrd was experiencing sinus problems and Combs had retaken the starting center fielding job. Aside from a 15 game stretch in September, Byrd spent the rest of the 1932 season backing up the starting outfield of Ruth, Combs, and Ben Chapman. He finished the 1932 season with a .297 average and eight home runs in 243 plate appearances across 105 games. Byrd made one appearance in the 1932 World Series as a defensive replacement for Ruth in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4. In 1934, he batted .246 with three home runs in 218 plate appearances across 106 games. Byrd led American League outfielders with a .988 fielding percentage in 1934, committing two errors in 160 chances.

After the 1934 season, the Yankees sold Byrd to the Cincinnati Reds. Byrd played for the Reds as a starting outfielder in 1935, alongside Chick Hafey, with Ival Goodman, Harlin Pool, and Adam Comorosky competing for the remaining playing time. He batted .262 with nine home runs in 460 plate appearances in 121 games. Heading into the 1936 season, Cincinnati started Goodman, Babe Herman, and Kiki Cuyler in the outfield, and Byrd returned to a reserve role.

The Reds traded Byrd to the Rochester Red Wings of the International League for Phil Weintraub and Jack Rothrock following the 1936 season. Byrd refused the assignment to the minor leagues, and announced in February 1937 that he was retiring from baseball to focus on his golf career. Cincinnati sent Rochester another player to complete the trade, and sold Byrd to the St. Louis Cardinals, who sent him a new contract for $10,000. After consulting with Jones, Ed Dudley, and Bill McWane, In 745 major league games, Byrd posted a .274 batting average (465-for-1,700) with 304 runs, 38 home runs, 220 runs batted in, and a .412 slugging percentage. He recorded a .975 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions.

Golf career Upon joining the Yankees, Byrd quickly developed the reputation of being the best golfer in professional baseball. In 1930, Bobby Jones played a round of golf with Byrd, and called Byrd "the very best man with a driver I ever saw." Byrd won the first tournament he entered, the amateur portion of the 1933 Southeastern PGA Open. He made his professional golf debut in a tournament at the Pinehurst Resort in November 1933. In January 1937, he won a golf tournament of baseball players in Sarasota, Florida, by fourteen strokes.

When Byrd retired from baseball in 1937, he became an assistant to Dudley at the Philadelphia Country Club. He tied with Abe Espinosa for fifth place in the 1938 Crescent City Open and tied with Ralph Guldahl for fourth place of the 1938 St. Petersburg Open Invitational. In July 1939, Byrd won the Philadelphia Open Championship. He finished in third place in the 1941 Masters Tournament. He finished in fourth place in the 1942 Masters Tournament.

Byrd resigned from the Merion Golf Club to succeed Jimmy Demaret as the golf pro at the Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan, effective November 1, 1943. In February 1944, he won the New Orleans Open with a score of 285, five strokes ahead of Byron Nelson. In June 1944, Byrd won the Philadelphia Inquirer Open Invitational. He won the Michigan PGA Championship in July 1944 with a score of 142, while Harmon, Jack Winney, and Al Watrous tied with 145, Byrd lost the final of the 1945 PGA Championship to Nelson, 4 and 3, in match play.

Byrd defended his Michigan PGA Championship title in August 1945, beating Chick Rutan by two strokes, 142 to 144. In March 1946, Byrd teamed with Sam Snead in the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball, which they lost to Demaret and Hogan. Byrd hosted the 1947 PGA Championship, which was held at Plum Hollow Country Club. In the 1948 Masters Tournament, he tallied the highest score ever at the second hole, recording a 10. He finished the round with a 12-over-par 84. He retired from the PGA Tour in 1949. Byrd won his last tournament, a Senior PGA Tour event, in 1967.

Personal life Byrd married Rachel Elizabeth Smith of Birmingham in October 1932, days after the conclusion of the 1932 World Series. Teammate Bill Dickey was his best man. Their daughter, Catherine, was born in 1939.

Awards and honors In 1974, Byrd was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in golf and baseball.

Other wins (6) This list is probably incomplete. 1939 Philadelphia Open Championship 1942 Pennsylvania Open Championship 1944 Michigan Open, Michigan PGA Championship 1945 Michigan PGA Championship 1967 PGA Seniors Teachers Trophy

Results in major championships Note: Byrd never played in The Open Championship.

NT = no tournament CUT = missed the half-way cut R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place