Bill Perkins
Catcher
Born: (1906-06-26)June 26, 1906
Dawson, Georgia
Died: January 24, 1958(1958-01-24) (aged 51)
Birmingham, Alabama
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Negro league baseball debut
1928, for the Birmingham Black Barons
Last appearance
1948, for the Baltimore Elite Giants
Teams

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

  1. 1 2 Sturm, James, 1965- (2007). Satchel Paige : striking out Jim Crow. Tommaso, Rich., Early, Gerald Lyn,, Center for Cartoon Studies. (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: Jump at the Sun. ISBN 978-0786839018. OCLC 171152733.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Ribowsky, Mark. (1995). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group. ISBN 1559722835. OCLC 31656278.
  3. ↑ Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  4. ↑ Ribowsky, Mark (1955). A complete history of the Negro leagues, 1884 to 1955. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. pp. 208. ISBN 1559722835.
  5. 1 2 "Bill Perkins". Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum. 2006. Archived from the original on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.


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