Sammy Hale

Samuel Douglas Hale (September 10, 1896 – September 6, 1974) was an American baseball player and manager. He played professional baseball from 1917 to 1941, including 10 years in Major League Baseball as a third baseman for the Detroit Tigers (1920–1921), Philadelphia Athletics (1923–1929), and St. Louis Browns. Hale compiled a lifetime batting average of .302 with 30 home runs and 393 runs batted in and was a member of the Philadelphia Athletics team that won the 1929 World Series. He also served as a player-manager in the West Texas–New Mexico League with the Midland Cowboys (1939–1940), Pampa Oilers (1941), and Wichita Falls Spudders (1941).

Early years Hale was born in Glen Rose, the county seat of Somervell County, Texas, in 1896. He later moved to Estelline in the Texas Panhandle. Hale worked "picking cotton and stringing telephone wires" as a young man in Texas.

Professional baseball Muskogee and San Antonio In April 1917, Hale began his professional baseball career with the Muskogee Reds of the Western Association. Less than one week after joining the club, Hale was nearly killed by an elevator in the Baltimore Hotel. The elevator began descending unexpectedly, "crushing Hale between the wall and the top of the car," leaving Hale hanging by his finger tips from the fifth floor landing. The impact tore the muscles above Hale's left knee and "mashed" the right leg below the knee "so that the skin rested against the bone." Hale went on to appear in 116 games, mostly at shortstop, for Muskogee. He hit 32 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs, and compiled a .284 batting average.

In August 1917, Hale was "recalled" by the San Antonio Bronchos of the Texas League. He appeared in 235 games for the Bronchos between 1917 and 1919. In 1919, he compiled a .346 batting average and a .515 slugging percentage while playing at third base for the Bronchos. Hale made his major league debut on April 20, 1920, and appeared in 76 games for the 1920 Tigers, mostly as a pinch-hitter but also in 16 games at third base and five games in center field. He compiled a .293 batting average,

In 1921, following a change of managers in Detroit, and with Ty Cobb becoming the team's player-manager, Hale appeared in only nine games for the Tigers and was limited to two plate appearances with no hits. The story later evolved with reports that he had unusually small hands that handicapped him as a fielder. One report from 1923 noted:"ome gloom-bird circulated the report that Hale's hands were too small to enable him to field grounders cleanly. Sammy's fins were said to be second cousin to a humming bird's in point of minuteness, and grave doubts were expressed as to his chance to make the grade in big league company." Bothered by the recurring reports, Hale later had his hands examined by a doctor who "pronounced his hands a trifle smaller than average, but not unusually undersized."

Portland Beavers On May 20, 1921, Hale was waived by Detroit to the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League. He remained with the Beavers for two years, compiling a .342 batting average in 1921 and .358 in 1922. Hale spent seven seasons with Connie Mack's Athletics from 1923 to 1929, playing in at least 80 games every year and in over 110 games five times. Hale's best season was 1925, when he was among the American League leaders with a .345 batting average (10th).540 slugging percentage (10th), and 11 triples (10th). He also had career highs with 49 extra base hits and 63 RBIs in 1925. He appeared in 62 games for the Browns, 47 as a third baseman, and compiled a .274 batting average. He played his last major league game with the Browns on August 23, 1930. He also served as a player-manager in the West Texas–New Mexico League with the Midland Cowboys (1939–1940), Pampa Oilers (1941), and Wichita Falls Spudders (1941).

Family and later years In September 1917, Hale married Alma Charlotte Richerson in Estelline, Texas. Hale reportedly accumulated a fortune during the 1920s only to lose it in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.