Rest in Peace Solly Drake
Born:
- October 23rd, 1930 - Little Rock, Arkansas
Died:
- August 18th, 2021 (Age 90) - Los Angeles, California
Positions:
- Outfield
Batted:
- Switch
Threw
- Right
Teams:
- Chicago Cubs (1956)
- Los Angeles Dodgers (1959)
- Philadelphia Phillies (1959)
Awards:
Key Notes:
Solly Drake was the older of the first black brother combination to play major league baseball in the 20th Century. His brother Sammy Drake was an infielder for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets from 1960 to 1962.
Before the 1951 season Solly was signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent. Solly spent 1951 with the class C Topeka Owls and the 20-year-old outfielder appeared in 85 games and hit for a .324 average.
The speedy switch-hitting outfielder, once timed in 10 seconds flat in the 100-yard dash, was brought up by the Cubs in 1956, when he appeared in 65 games, hit for a .256 average and fielded at a .993 clip. He was also with the AAA St. Paul Saints for 55 games that year, hitting .333 with nine home runs.
Solly was back in the minors in 1957, hitting .290 for the Portland Beavers and in 1958 he turned it up a notch and hit .301 with 9 homers for the Montreal Royals, leading the International League in hits with 183, runs with 105 and triples with 16. 1959 saw Drake back in the National League, getting into nine games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and 67 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was mainly a pinch-hitter - a role in which he went 0 for 22 - and a back-up outfielder, getting only 70 at-bats between the two teams and hitting .157. This marked the end of his major league run with a career batting average of .232 in 141 games. *From BR Bullpen
Cards:
- Chicago Cubs
 |
| 1957 Topps #159 RC |
- Los Angeles Dodgers
 |
| 1959 Topps #406 |
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