Lennie Pearson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lennie Pearson |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| First baseman | |||
| Born: August 23, 1914 Akron, Ohio |
|||
| Died: December 7, 1980 (aged 66) East Orange, New Jersey |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| 1937, for the Newark Eagles | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1948, for the Newark Eagles | |||
| Career statistics | |||
| Batting average | .294 | ||
| Hits | 506 | ||
| Home runs | 50 | ||
| Runs batted in | 325 | ||
| Stolen bases | 42 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Leonard Curtis Pearson (born August 23, 1914 – died December 7, 1980) was an amazing American baseball player. He was often called "Hoss" by his friends and teammates. Lennie Pearson played as a first baseman in the Negro leagues from 1937 to 1949. He spent most of his career playing for the Newark Eagles.
Contents
Starting His Baseball Journey
Lennie Pearson began his professional baseball career at age 19. He joined the Newark Eagles in 1937. In his first season, he played 24 games. He had a batting average of .234. Pearson played almost his entire career with the Eagles. He only had brief times with two other teams.
Becoming a Star Player
In 1940, Lennie Pearson really started to shine. For the first time, his batting average went over .300. He hit .347 that year. He also led the Negro National League with eight home runs.
The next year, his batting average was .278. But he was still good enough to be chosen for his first East-West All-Star Game. This was a special game where the best players from the East and West teams played against each other.
The Triple Crown Season
The year 1942 was Lennie Pearson's best season ever. He led the league in several important categories:
- He had the highest batting average at .347.
- He hit the most home runs with 11.
- He also had the most runs batted in (RBIs) with 56.
- He also had the most hits with 67.
Leading in batting average, home runs, and RBIs is called winning the Triple Crown. This is a very rare achievement in baseball. Only six other players in Negro league baseball history had won a Triple Crown. Lennie Pearson and another player named Ted Strong were the last to do it in the Negro leagues. Pearson was chosen for two All-Star games that year because he was so good.
Continued Success
After his amazing 1942 season, Pearson continued to play well. In 1943, his batting average was .271. Even so, he was still picked for another All-Star team.
He made the All-Star team again in 1945 and 1946. In both of these years, his batting average was .300 or higher. In 1946, he also led the league in stolen bases with seventeen!
Lennie Pearson played his last major league season in 1948. He finished that year with a strong batting average of .292. He was a true legend of the Negro leagues.
