1916
Born October 30, 1916
Alexandria, VA, USA
Leon Day Marquee Hall of Fame 1995
b. October 30, 1916 · Baltimore Black Sox 1934, Brooklyn Eagles 1935, Newark Eagles 1936–1939, 1941–1943, 1946, Homestead Grays 1937, 1942, Philadelphia Stars 1943
He pitched 100 games over ten seasons from 1934, going 54-25 with 474 strikeouts and ten shutouts, and led his league in shutouts four times and in strikeouts three. He hit well enough to play 62 games in the outfield and 45 at second base, and batted .313 with 207 hits across 222 recorded games.
He was chosen for six East-West All-Star games. He served in the army in Europe, missing 1944 and 1945, and came back to lead the league in wins, strikeouts and shutouts in 1946. The figures are partial because these statistics were not kept with the resources the white major leagues had.
He was thirty when the color line fell and the clubs looked past him. He played in Mexico and Canada instead. The Veterans Committee elected him in 1995, and he died that March at seventy-eight, having been told.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 6 | 1935, 1937, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1946 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | BBS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1935 | BE | 18 | 43 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .209 |
| 1936 | NE | 16 | 36 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .361 |
| 1937 | HG/NE | 9 | 23 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .391 |
| 1938 | NE | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 1939 | NE | 22 | 51 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .353 |
| 1941 | NE | 52 | 188 | 24 | 60 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 4 | .319 |
| 1942 | HG/NE | 46 | 145 | 26 | 46 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 13 | 2 | 1 | .317 |
| 1943 | NE/PS | 30 | 112 | 15 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2 | .268 |
| 1946 | NE | 24 | 58 | 15 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .362 |
| Career | — | 222 | 661 | 108 | 207 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 94 | 51 | 5 | 7 | .313 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | BBS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 36.00 |
| 1935 | BE | 7 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 103.2 | 103 | 50 | 41 | 62 | 4.34 |
| 1936 | NE | 5 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 76.1 | 69 | 34 | 39 | 54 | 4.01 |
| 1937 | HG/NE | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 34.0 | 35 | 21 | 12 | 25 | 5.56 |
| 1938 | NE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9.2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.79 |
| 1939 | NE | 9 | 6 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 105.2 | 101 | 50 | 44 | 61 | 4.26 |
| 1941 | NE | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 39.1 | 45 | 22 | 22 | 32 | 5.03 |
| 1942 | HG/NE | 9 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 94.0 | 58 | 18 | 31 | 87 | 1.72 |
| 1943 | NE | 4 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 52.2 | 50 | 25 | 20 | 39 | 4.27 |
| 1946 | NE | 13 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 133.0 | 98 | 36 | 51 | 109 | 2.44 |
| Career | — | 54 | 25 | 100 | 80 | 3 | 651.1 | 576 | 271 | 264 | 474 | 3.74 |
On this day & linked events
1995
Died March 13, 1995
1949
Final major-league game: Leon Day
Leon Day played a final major-league game on September 27, 1949.