Chapter 7
Homer Peel
A Shreveport resident and baseball fan his last three decades, a frequent visitor to the ballpark, he was a legendary player -- considered the “Ty Cobb of the Texas League.”
And he was the Shreveport Sports' player-manager in 1939-40, just a few years after he played in the major leagues and in the World Series. Both years he managed the Sports the team was plagued by injuries and finished in fifth place and then seventh.
He was an outfielder for the 1933 World Series champion New York Giants, a .500 Series hitter (1-for-2, a single as a pinch-hitter in Game 3). He was in the majors for five years (two full seasons) and 1933 was his best season -- 84 games, .257 average. He had a total of 100 MLB hits in 186 games and his average was .238.
In 14 Texas League seasons (seven with Houston), he was almost 100 points higher -- .325 -- and eight times batted better than .300, including a league-high .370 in 1937 when, as player-manager, his Fort Worth Cats -- fourth in the regular season -- surged in the postseason and won the TL playoff championship and then the Dixie Series (against the Southern Association champion Little Rock Travelers, four games to one).
He played for 21 seasons (1923-46, around Navy service), seven in the TL as player-manager (Fort Worth, Shreveport and Oklahoma City), followed by four years as a non-playing manager for teams in East and Central Texas.
During World War II, he served in the Navy (chief petty officer in the South Pacific) and his final season as a baseball player was in 1946.
He and his family -- wife Julia and son Skipper (born in 1952) -- became Shreveport residents and, after baseball, he went into the car-sales business, then operated a dry-cleaning business. He owned and operated automobile service stations for a couple of decades.
He briefly was back in baseball in 1972 as groundskeeper for the Shreveport Captains at SPAR Stadium, and for the next 20-plus years was a familiar figure at games and oldtimers baseball reunions.
He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, the Texas League Hall of Fame (as a player and a manager), and was in the first class of Ark-La-Tex Sports Museum honorees in Shreveport.
During World War II, he served in the Navy (chief petty officer in the South Pacific) and his final season as a baseball player was in 1946.He and his family -- wife Julia and son Skipper (born in 1952) -- became Shreveport residents and, after baseball, he went into the car-sales business, then operated a dry-cleaning business. He owned and operated automobile service stations for a couple of decades.
He briefly was back in baseball in 1972 as groundskeeper for the Shreveport Captains at SPAR Stadium, and for the next 20-plus years was a familiar figure at games and oldtimers baseball reunions.
He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, the Texas League Hall of Fame (as a player and a manager), and was in the first class of Ark-La-Tex Sports Museum honorees in Shreveport.
He died April 8, 1997, in Shreveport at age 94.
First three photos courtesy of Skip Peel and the Homer Peel Baseball Collection,
LSU-Shreveport Northwest Louisiana Archives.
Last four photos from The Shreveport Times.
From Sheryl Hawkins Nix: He was in the nursing home where my dad went after his debilitating stroke. His wife was faithfully with him every day. Very humble. But I did get to hear a few good stories.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ron Stephens: Homer Peel was my back-fence neighbor when I lived on Albany Street in Shreveport. He was always ready to discuss baseball and tell stories. He was quick to show you his World Series ring. Nice man.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ed Cassiere: I learned from you today that the Dodgers' Bill Russell managed the 2001 Swamp Dragons.
ReplyDeleteGreat research on finding the year-by-year records and the midseason franchise moves.
From Dr. John Watkins: Catching up on your blog posts. This one caught my eye because Homer Peel and my Uncle George were teammates in Houston (1928), St. Louis (1930), and New York (1934).
ReplyDeleteMy dad told me yesterday that when he was a kid in Ft. Worth he used to go to the local field and watch the Ft. Worth Cats through cracks and knotholes in the fence. One day Homer Peel gave him a small souvenir bat. Man, I wish he still had that bat. I saw a team photo on ebay, though, and I bought it for him yesterday.
ReplyDelete