Bill Perkins (baseball)
William Gamiel Perkins (June 26, 1906 – January 24, 1958) was an American baseball catcher from who played in the Negro leagues from 1928 to 1948 with several teams. A native of Albany, Georgia, Perkins is best known for being "Satchel Paige's personal catcher throughout his career" and wearing a chest protector that read, "Thou shalt not steal!"[1] While playing for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Perkins served as Josh Gibson's backup catcher; but, even as backup catcher, he was the one to whom Paige most often threw his fastballs.[2] He played in two East-West All-Star Games, in 1934 and 1940.[3] Perkins was one of the "jumpers" who jumped to Santo Domingo when tropical countries started summer seasons in competition with American leagues.[4] He was temporarily suspended from playing in the United States in 1938, but the suspension was short and he then signed with the Philadelphia Stars.[5] He served in the US Army during World War II,[6] and was shot in a restaurant in 1948 with very limited details about the event.[5][1] References
External links
|