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Home > Baseball > MLB Hall of Famers > Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella is one of the former baseball players who hold the honor of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Campanella was born on November 19, 1921 in Philadelphia at Pennsylvania. He was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues as a professional on April 20, 1948, with the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. Just with a height of 5 feet 9 inches, he was solidly built and the fastest player in the team.
Campanella was one of the five black players signed by Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1946 season. He had already proven himself as a catcher during nine years in the Negro National League, the winter leagues, and Mexico. He began his baseball career in 1937 with a hometown semi professional team, the Bacharach Giants. So impressive was his play that the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League offered him a uniform that year, though he was only 15 years old. He won the first-string job in 1939 and led the Giants to playoff triumphs over the Newark Eagles and the Homestead Grays. In four games he collected five hits, including one home run, and drove in seven runs.
Campanella soon challenged the aging Josh Gibson as the dominant Negro League catcher. He was voted as the MVP, Most Valuable Player in the 1941 East-West all-star game, but after a dispute with Baltimore owner Tom Wilson, he jumped to the Mexican League for part of 1942 and all of 1943. Rejoining the Giants, he led the league in doubles in 1944. He also served the Dodgers in 1948, but his promotion to Brooklyn was delayed by Rickey's plan to have him integrate the American Association.
Campanella's contributions to the Dodgers were remarkable. He won the MVP award three times in five years. In 1953, his best season, he batted 0.312, and scored 103 runs. In 12 additional seasons, ten in the majors, he was one of the era's outstanding players, and his leadership and indefatigable enthusiasm made him one of the most popular players in the game.
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